The Angkor Dance Troupe at LongHouse Reserve's Summer gala.

LongHouse Reserve hosted its annual Summer Gala on its 16-acre East Hampton grounds last Saturday, honoring internationally-acclaimed silk weaver Carol Cassidy. More than 300 guests gathered to celebrate “ASIAN LAUGHTER,” a tribute to the joy that Southeast Asian art and culture bring to the world. Patrons sampled unique culinary delights from Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, while enjoying music performed on traditional Asian instruments. They also had the opportunity to view LongHouse’s exquisite grounds and silently bid on art from renowned artists such as Willem de Kooning, Roy Lichtenstein and Dale Chihuly.

The Angkor Dance Troupe

Anne Roos, Jane Gropp, Lou Gropp, Manana Freyre, and Brigitte Gambini

The evening began at 5p.m. for “patrons,” “benefactors” and “sponsors,” who purchased tickets at $1,500 or more, at the Round House reception. Guests viewed the unique property formerly owned by Jack Lenor Larsen (see NYSD House [1]), next door to LongHouse, and each received a one-of-a-kind, white silk scarf, designed by Cassidy. At 6:30p.m., Cassidy and the Round House reception patrons joined other partygoers arriving at the Asian-themed gala. The Angkor Dance Troupe performed several interpretive dances, leading guests on a journey through ancient Cambodia. Internationally-acclaimed Korean drummer Vongku Park also took the stage with his unique ability to combine poongmul and samulnori elements of traditional Korean dance with Western drama.

LongHouse’s exquisite grounds ...

Summer Gala proceeds will support the LongHouse Reserve’s mission to exemplify living with art in all forms – a mission Jack Lenor Larsen, one of the world’s foremost advocates of traditional and contemporary crafts, began in 1991. Through its arboretum, sculpture gardens, and educational programs, LongHouse unites art and nature, aesthetics and spirit. It remains strongly committed to a belief that the arts are central to living wholly and creatively.

Johannes Cassidy-Seyoum, Carol Cassidy, and Sarah Cassidy-Seyoum

Fred d'Hallewin, and Beatrice Dupont

Maximillion Schmidbauer, Magdalena von Behr, Daniel von Behr, and Sherry Dobbin

Kouchi Hara and Dianne Benson

Matko Tomicic, Sue Felsher, Steve Felcher, Dianne Benson, and Joseph La Piana

Alice Aycock and Steve Davis

Peter Beth, Pamela Fiori, and Nadia Noek

Bill Smith, Dennis Schrader, and Dianne Benson

Tina Maria Birch and Yuta Powell

Florence and Richard Fabricant

Will Trinkle and Juan Granados

Anne Roos, Charles Roos, and Jane Gropp

Arlene Slavin, Vincent Cobello, and Barbara Press

Amanda Bowling, Gordon Bowling, and Susan Gullia

Antoinette Botarelli, Marco Botarelli, and Beatrice Dupont

Bill Cunningham

Ruth Goodman, Jack Larson, and Janet O'Brien

Alexandra Munroe and Carol Mandel

Pepe Villegas, Brad Learmonth, Romulo Villalpa, and Jon Gilman

Amy Schichtel and Rob Wussler

Carol Rattray and Sharon Peterson

Susan Gullia and Bob Menschel

Nancy Weeks and Douglas Harrington

Chester and Christy Murray

Cassandra Lazano and Natasha Sigmund

Diane Looney, Rich Garvey, and Walt Looney

Rob Wussler, Carol Weisman, and Michael Weisman

Maxine Stadnik, Joyce Evans, and George Stadnik

Will Trinkle, Nancy Weeks, and Douglas Harrington

Cassandra Ellis and Francesca Esmay

Rob Wussler, Liam Hackett, and Mason Rader

Shang Huang, Magdalena von Behr, Florian Boss, Adrien Madeler, Lauren Digiulio, Jakob Oredsson, and Awa Sawicka

Madeline Bennett, Grasiella Chajon, Mia, and Joanna Steichen

Vince Bandy, Sandra Ballentine, and Carol Cassidy

Mark and Jean Patiky

Steve Davis, Alice Aycock, and James Salomon

Baroness Sheri de Borchgrave

Pamela Fiori and Colt Givner

Roseline Koener and Mark Walcott

Masako Dempo

Susan Gullia, Barbara Slifka, and Judy Bergsma

Skye Marigold and Laura Gundersen

Nicoline Bergsma, Sarah Cassidy-Seyoum, and Alexandra Nicklas

Maximillion Schmidbauer, Rob Wussler, Lisa de Kooning, and Amy Schichtel

Terrie Sultan, Nae Mougin, Manana Freyre, and Dianne Benson

Jessica Joffe

Janet O'Brien

Lisa De Kooning

Elizabeth Hill, Alison Hill, and Mana Hill

Grant Haffner, Francesca Esmay, Taylor Van Deusen, and Elliot Wandel

Lisa and Joel Bass

John Driscoll, Marylyn Dintenfass, Elizabeth Levine, and Mark Levine

Photographs by ©PatrickMcMullan.com [2]

Last Wednesday night a high-profile crowd of tennis legends, sports enthusiasts, New York City officials and local community members gathered on a beautiful summer evening for the first annual Tennis Champions for Children Benefit at the new SPORTIME at Randall’s Island tennis facility hosted by the Randall’s Island Sports Foundation. The gala benefit honored New York’s hometown tennis heroes Billie Jean King, Chris Lacopo, Eugene L. Scott (in memoriam) and Ken Solomon and was held in conjunction with an exciting Advanta World TeamTennis Special Legends match between the NY Sportimes featuring John McEnroe and the Boston Lobsters featuring Martina Navratilova.

Claude Okin, Karen Cohen, Billie Jean King, Tori Dauphinot, John McEnroe, Ken Solomon, Martina Navratilova, Polly Scott, and Chris Lacopo

The evening began with guests enjoying cocktails and hors d'œuvres after which guests moved out to the packed 2,000 seat stadium filled with New York’s tennis enthusiasts ready to enjoy the evening’s match. Between games, guests dined courtside and relaxed on SPORTIME’s outdoor terrace with gourmet picnic fare.

SPORTIME’s Mascot

John McEnroe, Billie Jean King, and Martina Navratilova

Lisa Cashin, Dale Burch, Marnie Worth, Marjorie Torres, and Aila Main

Ken and Julie Podziba

Mr. and Mrs. Rodney Cohen

During half-time, Benefit Chair Tori Dauphinot led a special awards ceremony. Both John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova provided heartfelt praise to each honoree for their special contributions to the world of tennis and young aspiring tennis stars from The Randall’s Island Sports foundation helped present the Tennis Champions for Children awards.  Proceeds from the evening benefit the Randall’s Island Sports Foundation (RISF) and the tens of thousands of children from East Harlem and the South Bronx it serves every year through free sports and recreational programming.

Chuck Adams, Christina Fusano, Robert Kendrick, Abigail Spears, and Jesse Witten,

Martina Navratilova

Guests included: Katie Couric, Billie Jean King, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, NYC Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe, NYC Sports Commissioner Ken Podziba, RISF Founder and President Karen Cohen,  RISF Chairman Rich Davis, Aimee Boden, Chris Lacopo, Polly Scott, Ken Solomon, Sportime Managing Partner Claude Okin, NY Sportimes Coach Chuck Adams, Bennett Schlansky, Patricia Shifke, Susan Danilow, Jerry Goldman, Dean Landis, Nancy Neff, Rodney Cohen, Bradford Peck,  Bimla Picot, Waide Warner, Anne Wilson, Pinky Keehner, Dan Weinstein, Bonnie Strauss, Lauren Cohen Starr, Karen Klopp, Francis Angelino, Ricardo Zurita, Carol Angelino, Michelle Beaulieu, Kelli Bender, Lisa Cashin, Dale Burch, Marnie Worth, Marjorie Torres, Aila Main, Anella Bokhari, Patricia Wanadi, Jenna Herold, among others.

Ashley Harkleroad

Pinky Keehner, Rich Davis, and Aimee Boden

Bimla Picot

Rich Davis, Aimee Boden, and Adrian Benepe

Dean Landis with Mr. and Mrs. Brad Peck

Anne Wilson and Dan Weinstein

Anella Bokhari, Patricia Wanandi, and Jenna Herold

Polly Scott and Tori Dauphinot

Karen Klopp and Pat Shifke

Bonnie Strauss and Lauren Cohen Starr

Francis Angelino, Ricardo Zurita, and Carol Angelino

Betsy and Andy Cohen

Girls sporting summer dresses

Pat Shifke, Katie Couric, and friends

Karen Cohen and Jack Hayflick

Kelli Bender and Michelle Beaulieu

Bennett Schlansky and Nancy Neff

The Frick Collection, the museum in a mansion on Fifth Avenue and 70th, is known for its fine and decorative arts collection and the contemplative residential quality of its galleries. Its gardens too, elevated and set back from Fifth Avenue, are beloved. However, they were designed to be viewed from afar and are generally not open to the public. Visitors customarily peer through the fence, through the window ... they are lovely outdoor spaces ... Perhaps that (in combination the forecast for yet another dreamy July night), is why the responses to a Garden Party at the Frick last night came in with such great enthusiasm. Nearly 290 attended this benefit in support of the full range of programs of The Frick Collection, including educational and curatorial initiatives, and the Frick Art Reference Library.

Gustavo Arce, Amanda Mallan, Kay Sheils, Krista Schulz, and Anna Curry

Guests entered the museum on 70th, where they may also have peered into the little gem of an enclosed garden created in the 1970s by celebrated English garden designer Russell Page. Inside the mansion (if they could resist the outdoors for a few minutes!) guests could enjoy the central Garden Court, a signature enclosed space created in 1935 by John Russell Pope, who designed the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in the same decade. That classical marble-and limestone space is cool and inviting, with a central fountain, bronze Renaissance sculptures on the sides, a fantastic example of large scale white Meissen porcelain sculpture from the experimental early years of the manufactory ... and lots of greenery ... palms and the recent addition of deep orange and yellow bromeliads (member of the pineapple family).

Young Fellows Lucy Lang, Caitlin Davis, Rod Keenan, Dionne Manno, and Cator Sparks

At 7:15pm Senior Curator Susan Grace Galassi gave a gallery talk in the adjacent Oval Room on the acclaimed summer exhibition Portraits, Pastels, and Prints: Whistler in The Frick Collection, which runs through August 23. Curatorial Assistants Caitlin Henningsen and Joanna Sheers stood by in the Cabinet Gallery to discuss Whistler’s series of etchings and pastels there (the works are shown against yellow walls, by the way, as Whistler preferred that color for the display of prints and even created a dress code (!) for print show openings, not adhered to by the Frick, Whistler felt ladies should wear black and white and the men: yellow cravats). The etchings and prints of this room capture Venice the way Whistler appreciated it–for its quiet moments and off-the-beaten-track discoveries. These works have not been on view for over twenty years ... a treat to see.

Guests enjoy the Fifth Avenue Garden

Outside, reception guests enjoyed refreshments and hors d’oeuvres by caterer Sonnier and Castle. This garden was redesigned at the time of the museum’s opening in 1935 by Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., son of the planner of Central Park. The jazz quartet of vintage bandleader Michael Arenella offered renderings of the great American Songbook. Among the names on the guest list were Frick Chairman Margot Bogert and Jeremiah Bogert, Gustavo Arce, Catherine Cahill, William Carey, Annika Connor, Brigitte and William Crovello, Maximiliano de Vento, Barbara G. Fleischman, Susan Grace Galassi, Amanda Gordon, Nina Griscom, Agnes Gund, Joanne and Warren S. Josephy, hat designer Rod Keenan, Elena Kornbluth, Lucy J. Lang, Harrison LeFrak, Amanda Mallan, Sloan McClure, Clare E. McKeon, Gillian and Sylvester Miniter, Wendy Moonan, Lisa D. Morse, Alberic Paradiso, Laura Pels, Thorne and Tatiana P. Perkin, Frick Director Anne Poulet, Georgina Schaeffer, Kay Sheils, Krista Schulz Slyvana, Soto-Ward, Cator Sparks, Lisa and Amy Springsteel, Phillip Thomas ... and many more.

Alex Hasek and Mahisha Rupan

Peter Beeson, Susan Grace Galassi (Senior Curator and organizer of Portraits, Pastels, and Prints: Whistler in The Frick Collection), and Jane Borthwick

Young Fellows Coordinator Caitlin Davis, Frick Board Chairman Margot Bogert, and Director Anne Poulet

Christopher C. Grimes and Allison Ecung

Thomas Knapp and Laura Pels

Mr. and Mrs. Elsberry, Frick Board Chairman Margot Bogert, and Jeremiah Bogert

Cheong Kwon, Frick Trustee Agnes Gund, and Frick Director Anne Poulet

Danielle A. Wandersee and Sotheby’s Jill Waddell

Lauren Hawkins and Diana Willson

Sylvester and Gillian Miniter, Amanda Gordon, and Jonathan Heidelberger

Yina Luo and Annika Connor

Nina Griscom and Leonel Piraino

Maximiliano del Vento and Alberic Paradiso

Lisa J. Springsteel, Cheong Kwon, and Amy Springsteel

Photographs by Christine A. Butler (Frick).

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