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Karl and Jennifer Salatka stand before Circle and Two Squares by Al Held, a
painting from their private collection that they have loaned to Carnegie
Museum of Art.
Dr. Karl and Jennifer Salatka
“I consider myself an absolutely ‘average’ person,” asserts
Karl Salatka, M.D. “If I can enjoy
and support Carnegie Museums, then I would expect that most other people
could do so also.” Karl and his
wife, Jennifer Salatka, are members of the Carnegie Patrons Circle. The Carnegie Patrons Circle recognizes
donors who make leadership gifts to the annual sustaining fund, and enables
them to receive invitations to special parties and events.
Karl
and Jennifer have increased their support of Carnegie Museums because they appreciate
the museums’ community-oriented approach. “Carnegie Museums has really made
an effort to reach out to average people in the community and get them
involved in the museums. We think
that’s a great thing,” Karl says.
“Museums shouldn’t just be repositories for artifacts. They should be places where people can experience
new things, learn, and be challenged intellectually.”
The
Salatkas became members of Carnegie Museums when Karl, a University of
Pittsburgh Medical School graduate, was in surgical residency in Pittsburgh
in the 1970s. Karl is a surgeon,
and Jennifer, a registered nurse, manages his office practice.
Because
of their scientific backgrounds, they’ve supported Carnegie Museum of
Natural History and Carnegie Science Center in the past. In recent years, they’ve become more
involved in Carnegie Museum of Art.
Karl began collecting contemporary art in the early 1990s, with
encouragement and advice from local gallery owner Sam Berkovitz and
Carnegie Museum of Art Henry J. Heinz II Director Richard Armstrong. The Salatkas have loaned several works
of art to Carnegie Museum of Art.
“Art is so different from what I do,” notes Karl. “It enlightens and uplifts me. It makes you think of something other
than your everyday duties and obligations.
I now go to the museums and walk around even when it’s a nice day
for golf.”
By supporting
Carnegie Museums, Karl and Jennifer hope that they will help the museums’
provide other people with what Karl calls “moments of enlightenment.”
They encourage others to give what they can. “All of us should support the museums. Without museums, there is no society—no
way to interpret who we are and how we relate to the world and each
other. Museums inform us and
inspire us to think about the higher things in life,” says Karl.
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