WILLA COX  --  BIO

    I was born in Montana and grew up in Hawaii.  My first art class, when I was around age four, is also one of my first memories.  I have been painting ever since.  My grandparents lived near the ocean on Maui, and I spent many wonderful childhood hours beach-combing.  As a teen-ager and young adult, I loved hiking in the mountains and swimming in the pools at the base of waterfalls.  These experiences of nature in Hawaii remain important to me and are a continual source of visual inspiration.

    Entranced by New York City (my first visit was in 1982), I moved there in 1983 upon receiving a Master in Fine Arts degree from the University of Hawaii.  I worked in an Upper East Side gallery until, in 1986, I began my career at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  I managed the Registrar’s art storeroom from 1988 through 2018, when I retired from the Met.  I now dedicate all my energy to making my own work.  

    My husband, Jeffrey Saldinger, is also an artist.  His website is jeffreysaldinger.com.  Our home includes studio spaces, a print-making room, and a small garden.  We live in Astoria, New York and enjoy our quiet neighborhood and the easy subway access to Manhattan.