Lecture by Dr. Laurent Salomé, Director of the National Museum of Versailles Palace and Trianon

Lecture Title: Art or History? The Challenge of Collections Management at the Palace of the Sun King

Established in 1997, the Dr. Coleman Mopper Memorial Lecture honors the legacy of Dr. Coleman Mopper, a devoted patron of the DIA. Along with his late wife, Shirley, Dr. Mopper was an avid collector of European paintings, sculpture, and decorative arts, generously contributing many of these works to the museum. In recognition of their extraordinary commitment, the Moppers received the DIA Lifetime Service Award in 1996. To continue Dr. Mopper’s passion for European art, an endowed lecture series was created, featuring internationally renowned specialists in the field. Dr. Salomé will share his expertise on European Art and the art and history of Versailles, one of the most iconic landmarks of European culture.

About the speaker
Laurent Salomé is a graduate of the ESCP Business School in Paris and of the Ecole du Louvre. He also holds a degree from French National Institute of Cultural Heritage after he won first place in the competition for Curator of the Museums of France.
He was Deputy Director of the Museum of Grenoble from 1990 to 1995, the Director of the Museum of Fine Arts of Rennes from 1995 to 2001, the Director of the Museums of Rouen from 2001 to 2011 and the Director of Curatorial Affairs at the Réunion des Musées Nationaux – Grand Palais, where he was in charge of the exhibition program of the Grand Palais and the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris from 2011 to 2016.
In 2016, he was appointed Director of the National Museum of the Palaces of Versailles and Trianon, where he pursued a firm policy of refurbishing the palaces, expanding the programming and enriching the collections.