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Some people
were beginning to complain about the heat. A good sign. Beauty abounds.
I went to an early dinner over at Swifty’s with some old friends
in from out of town. The place was jammed on this early Monday night
in New York.
At the table by the open windows was Lee Radziwill with
friends. At another table, Jim Kaufman was dining
with Laura
Codman, in from Texas
on her way to London. Laura is directly descended from Ogden
Codman,
the gran-pappy of 20th century interior design. Ogden Codman is now
the god of interior design. Talk about influence, talk about power
in New York! Except he’s dead. Daid. And I’ll bet at least
50% of the design community (sorry, but I’ll bet I’m right)
doesn’t have a clue as to WHO Ogden Codman is/was. Or even his
collaborator Edith Wharton. That’s okay, that’s
show biz.
In the back room someone was giving a dinner party for Princess
Michael of Kent and the Venetian Heritage crew. I saw the Rayners,
Kathy and Billy, go in, as well as Liz Fondaras, Alex
Hitz, Doda Voridis, David Beer, Lee Thaw, Mario Buatta, the Countess
and Earl of Albemarle — Sally and Rufus to their friends;
Yanna Avis, Mr. and Mrs. Juan Pablo Molyneux, Victor Shafferman,
Dimitri of Yugoslavia, Frank and Victoria
Wyman, Kenny Lane, Mary McFadden, Nan Kempner, the fabled Aileen
Mehle, Kartica Soekarno (daughter of him). And several others too numerous
to mention. Now there, my dears, is a novel. Or maybe two. One for
Proust and one for John O’Hara.
The Princess is more beautiful than ever. She’s wearing her hair
long these days, like a French countess. She’s been in New York
more often than ever because she’s written a book, a biography
of Catherine Di Medici, the Queen of France (Henry
II), to be published
in the fall by Simon & Shuster. Queen Catherine always had to deal
with Diane de Poitiers, the forever girlfriend of
the king. I know it’s irreverent to talk about them that way,
but a spade’s
a spade and the guys held the aces in those days, so the girls had
to be pretty-damn-clever.
Princess Michael is almost deliriously familiar with the history of
European royalty, and fascinatingly so. In fact she’s directly
related to much of it (including Catherine and Diane!). She
not only knows it, she knows what’s interesting about it (always the private
trials and tribulations). She could probably write the ultimate biography
of the British Royal Family, although that will never happen (her husband
is first cousin to the Queen). No art for art sake in that household,
you can bet. Anyway, Americans are going to see more of her, and she
likes that. She’s got that American go-and-get-em; she works
hard and she loves it.
All that from dinner at Swifty’s, without going into what we
talked about non-stop (ourselves). |
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New
York Academy of Art held its annual gala, “the Tribeca Ball
2004”
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The
scene pre-dinner and during dinner at Gotham Hall
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The Tribeca Ball. Already it sounds like a good idea, no? Last Wednesday
down at Gotham Hall on Broadway and 36th, the New York Academy of
Art held its annual ball – the Tribeca Ball 2004. Benefit chairs
were Simone and David Levinson, chairman of the board of trustees
of the Academy. Honorary chairs were Eileen Guggenheim and Russell
Wilkinson. Benefit vice-chairs were Jennifer and
Larry Creel, Helen and Tim Schifter and Stephanie
Winston and David Wolkoff, along with
the trustees of the Academy.
The New York Academy of Art is a not-for-profit institution that
devotes itself to graduate studies and the advancement of figurative
painting, sculpture and drawing. This past year, the Academy has
been celebrating Italian art and design. So the theme for the ball
was ... “La Dolce Vita” which was, not so incidentally,
under the patronage of The Prince of Wales (those Brits are all over
town).
This ball is a major contribution in raising the funds needed to
maintain the Academy as a pre-eminent venue for artists. It is also
a major event in the world of the creative arts – attracting
people from the art, fashion, film and music worlds. This year was
no different with various artists and muses attending,
including
Vincent Desiderio, Anh Duong, Peter Gallagher, Deborah Harry,
Keith Richards and Patti Hansen, Jenny Saville, Live Schreiber, Frederique
Vander Wal and Fred Wilson.
Tom Finn provided the music. Attire: “sexy chic” and
black tie optional (never a good idea). Tables went fore 10 – 25
and 50 thousand. A good time was had by all. |
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Allie
Feldman, Alex Nephew, Carolyn Norris, and Jennifer Potter
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Kara
Ross, Michele Herbert, and Sharyn Mann
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Mary
and Leonard Gordon with Sybil Shainwald and Al Larson
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Nadia
Marcinkova, Michele Tagliani, Sarah Kellen, and Teala Davies
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Gary
Green, Michael Bebon, Wendy Frank, and Woody Heller
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Nina
Shapiro, Alison Schneider, and Dr. Patricia Cayne
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Sharyn
Mann, Alphonse D'Amato, Katuria Smith, and Stephen Mann
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Frederique
van der Wal, Joe Profaci, and Christine Nichols
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Alexandra
Lerner and Sherry Oliver
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Melinda
Salina and Betsy Mueller
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Eva
Ndachi and Antoine Verglas
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Elizabeth
Chase and David Schaefer
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Dr.
Holly Phillips and Jose Tavarez
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Frances
Schultz and Bill Smith
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Jennifer
Creel and Simone Levinson
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Joanne
Hartlaub and Martin Higgins
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Maude
Davis, Laura Thiel, and Terrie Pipaat
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Anh
Duong
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Sally
and Rufus Albemarle
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Giada Cucchiai with a friend
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Dinner
Chairs Simone and David Levinson
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Lauren
and Richard du Pont with Lauren Davis
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Mark
Gilbertson and Antony Todd
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Frances
Schultz and Marina Killery
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President
of Hermes Bob Chavez and Dr. Ruth
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Valesca
Guerrand-Hermes and Mathias Hermes
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Helen
Lee Schifter
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Charles
Evans and Bonnie Pfeiffer
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Sir
Ivan and Kim Magboul
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Douglas
Hannant and Debbie Bancroft
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Anh
Duong and Liev Schreiber
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Rufus
Albemarle and Frederique van der Wal
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Kathy
Kim and Will Silverman
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Jessica
Joffe and Antony Todd
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John
Bossard and Karin Luter
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Dancing
the night away
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Mary
Claire Hogan and Emily Davey
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The
staff hard at play
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Dessert
is served, courtesy of Amanda Lepore and "World Famous Bob"
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The
Central Park Conservancy’s Women’s Committee held
a kick-off party at Hermes for their annual Frederick Law Olmstead
Awards luncheon
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At
last year's Frederick Law Olmstead Awards luncheon. This
year's luncheon will be held on May 5th. Photo: JH. |
The same
night as the Tribeca Ball, last Wednesday, the Central Park Conservancy’s Women’s Committee held a kick-off party for
their annual Frederick Law Olmstead Awards luncheon which is held in
the Park’s gardens up on Fifth Avenue and 104th Street. This
year it will be held on May 5th. It is now a major New York spring
tradition – like the Easter Parade in days of yore.
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Hermes
vide-poche display
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You’ve seen the pictures from this luncheon on the Diary ever
year. It’s the new Easter Parade, and I’m not exaggerating.
This group which was organized by three women about a quarter century
ago, has raised tens of millions for beautifying and maintaining the
beautification of this magnificent creation of our forefathers. New
York without Central Park would be a desperate place for all of us.
With the Park, it is always that little bit of heaven, the place
where you can go and have a look at all that is around you, all the
wonders of man and of Mother Nature, that beneficent if all-powerful
mother of all of us.
The Committee held the kick-off party at Hermes. There were tastings
of fine wines and cheeses provided by Daniel Boulud’s Feast & Fetes. |
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Robert
Chavez with
Cynthia Lufkin, Alexia Hamm Ryan, Karen LeFrak, Marcia Mishaan,
and Eleanora Kennedy
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Hermes, in honor of the Committee produced
a limited edition vide-poche based on its new Early American
tabletop design. Do you know what I’m talking about? Neither
do I. However. Guests placing orders for this vide-poche (literally:
empty bag) saw 25% of their purchase going to the Conservancy.
And us; all of us! The best. Support the Conservancy, support yourself.
Among the stellar ones at Hermes were Debbie Bancroft, Anne Hearst, Blair
Husain, Eleanora Kennedy, Julia Koch, Karen LeFrak, Cynthia Lufkin, Marcia Mishaan,
Regina Perrugi, Liza Pulitzer, Alexia Hamm Ryan. |
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Blair
Husain
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Emilia
Fanjul
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Eleanora
Kennedy and Regina Perrugi
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Stephanie
Krieger and Sheri Babbio
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Nancy
and Joe Missett
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Liza
Pulitzer and Simone Mailman
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Marcia
and Richard Mishaan
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Rory
Hermelee, Robert Chavez, and Susan Anthony
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Beth
Rudin DeWoody, Charlie Scheips, and Karen LeFrak
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L.
to r.: Nancy Sambuco, Andrea Donahue, and Marcia
Mishaan; Cynthia Lufkin, Rachel Hovnanian, and Karen
LeFrak; Suzanne Cochran, Eleanora Kennedy, and Julia
Koch.
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Tamara
Stephenson and Tana Dye
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Jill
Roosevelt and Baird Ryan
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