In Memoriam: Pete Pantaleo

We celebrate the life of Pete Pantaleo, a dear friend and colleague who passed away November 17, 2022. Pete was the first preparator for the Parrish, starting his career 50 years ago at the Museum’s original location on Job’s Lane. He was a mentor to the Museum’s current preparator, Robin Klopfer, and to many others over the decades, guiding each and creating a network of professional preparators on Long Island.

Pete’s skillset was infinite, and he enjoyed sharing his knowledge. He worked at museums across Long Island and beyond and was often called upon for special projects nationwide requiring his expertise in mounting-making for artifacts.

As the Parrish envisioned a new facility to accommodate its expanding collection of artwork, Pete worked very closely with the museum staff, architects, designers and builders throughout the planning process. His insight and decades of knowledge and experience was critical to the process.

The term that best describes Pete is Career Legacy: a reputation that you leave behind…that shows you had an impact on the people and organization(s) you worked with and that your effect was meaningful to others.

We are grateful for our long relationship with him and his invaluable contributions to the Museum and the art community.