Last Thursday night, the Frick Collection held its annual Autumn Dinner at the Frick mansion on Fifth Avenue and East 70th Street. This Dinner is a highlight of The Frick Collection’s social and fundraising calendar and is always an early sell-out. The festive black-tie evening is the only sit-down dinner held in the museum’s picture galleries, amid masterpieces dating from the Renaissance through the 19th century.
This year they honored Henry P. Johnson, a steadfast friend of the Frick and a loyal supporter of both the museum and library. For thirteen years, Mr. Johnson has championed the museum’s special exhibitions and the programs of the Center for the History of Collecting.
Guests in the Garden Court
He is also a passionate supporter of arts and culture in greater New York and sits on the boards of the New York Botanical Garden, American Ballet Theatre, Vassar College, Greenwood Gardens, and the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation. In his business life, he is President of Northern Trust’s Wealth Management business in the eastern United States, overseeing twenty-eight offices from New England to Florida.
The evening began with a cocktail reception in the 1935 neoclassical Garden Court. Guests could explore the former residence of Henry Clay Frick which is now the core of the museum that houses his remarkable collection, including masterpieces by Bellini, Fragonard, Gainsborough, Goya, Holbein, Ingres, Rembrandt, Turner, Velázquez, and Vermeer, among others; and French 18th-century furniture and Italian Renaissance bronzes.
Board of Trustees Chairman Betty EveillardTrustee and Benefit Chairman Margot BogertHonoree and Benefit Committee Member Henry P. JohnsonDirector Ian Wardropper and Honoree and Benefit Committee Member Henry P. Johnson
Also on view at this time are the Frick’s current special exhibitions, The Charterhouse of Bruges: Jan van Eyck, Petrus Christus, and Jan Vos and Masterpieces of French Faience: Selections from the Sidney R. Knafel Collection.
The highlight of the evening was a formal sit-down dinner in a series of contiguous, dramatically lit galleries catered brilliantly by Oliver Cheng Catering & Events. Banquet tables ran the length of the mansion’s West Gallery, where guests dined among works by Vermeer and Rembrandt. Those seated in the more intimate Oval Room found their round tables surrounded by full-length portraits by Whistler. Guests in the East Gallery dined among paintings by David, Goya, Van Dyck, and others.
Frick Chairman Betty Eveillard welcomed everyone from the podium in the West Gallery, and thanked guests for their generous support of the Frick and for joining the museum in celebrating the evening’s honoree, Mr. Johnson. After the main course, Frick trustee Margot Bogert and Frick Director Ian Wardropper toasted Johnson. Wardropper then presented him with a commemorative silver tray donated by Tiffany & Co.
The West GalleryThe place settingsThe table centerpiecesGuests in the West GalleryGuests in the East GalleryGuests in the Oval Room
Leadership in creating the evening were: Peter and Sofia Blanchard, Margot and Jerry Bogert, Alexandra Caroline Kittle, Larry Ross Milstein, Rochelle C. and Mark H. Rosenberg, and Sana H. Sabbagh.
Benefactors and Patrons were: Brad and Barbara Evans, Elizabeth and Jean-Marie Eveillard, Mrs. Henry Clay Frick II, Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Horvitz, Ingleside Investors, Susan and Henry P. Johnson, Sidney R. Knafel, Lydia and Eric Muller, Northern Trust, Dr. and Mrs. James S. Reibel, Louisa Stude Sarofim, Charlotte Textor, and Elaine and Donald Textor.
Casey KohlbergGuests in the North HallL to R.: Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon and Senior Manager of Media Relations and Marketing Alexis Light; Alvise Orsini and Lisa ArpeyBenefit Committee Member Deborah Royce, President Emerita Helen Clay Chace, and Trustee and Benefit Committee Member Charles M. RoyceDirector Ian Wardropper, Board of Trustees Chairman Betty Eveillard, Trustee and Benefit Chairman Margot Bogert, and Honoree and Benefit Committee Member Henry P. JohnsonLucy Lang, Caitlyn Pickens, Amory McAndrew, Casey Kohlberg, and Curator of Decorative Arts Charlotte VignonBenefit Committee Members Victor and Jerry Ann Woodfin-CostaL to R.: Cody Kittle and Benefit Chairman Alexandra Caroline Kittle ;Willem Kooyker and Judith-Ann CorrenteSarah Dawson, Brittney Londa, Charlotte Textor, Anna Tadej, and Ali McCluskyMartha Fleischman and Trustee and Benefit Committee Member Barbara G. FleischmanL to R .: Tijana Ibrahimovic; Head of Leadership Gifts Genevra Le Voci, Nikki Trager, and Rebecca VanyoBenefit Committee Chairman Jean-Marie Eveillard and Board of Trustees Chairman Betty EveillardBenefit Committee Member Barbara Reibel and Trustee and Benefit Committee Chairman James S. Reibel, M.D.Di MondoHaley SacksKatherine Stewart, Grace Johnson, Kimberly Textor, Jack Erickson, Isabelle Simone, and Annemette HarnesDirector Ian Wardropper, Board of Trustees Chairman Betty Eveillard, Honoree and Benefit Committee Member Henry P. Johnson and Benefit Committee Member Susan JohnsonTrustee and Benefit Chairman Margot Bogert and Benefit Chairmen Rochelle C. and Mark H. RosenbergPeter Jay Sharp Chief Curator Xavier F. Salomon, Benefit Committee Chairman Marina Kellen, and Deputy Director for External Affairs Tia ChapmanBenefit Chairman Sofia Blanchard, Trustee and Benefit Chairman Peter P. Blanchard III, and Benefit Chairman Sana H. SabbaghL to R.: Benefit Chairman Larry Ross Milstein, Toby Milstein, and Brian Drost; Casey Kohlberg and Associate Director for Individual Giving Karaugh BrownSarah McNear, Margi Schwartz, and Jill NewhouseMargo M. Langenberg and Victoria WymanMish-Tworkowski, Benefit Committee Member Susan Johnson, and Joseph SingerL to R.: Mark Gilbertson and Amory McAndrew; Jill and Kerry JoyceDavid Goldman, Trustee and Benefit Committee Member Michael J. Horvitz, Catherine Michaelson, and Mark SchafferLonda Weisman, Trustee and Benefit Committee Chairman Sidney R. Knafel, and Curator of Decorative Arts Charlotte VignonBenefit Chairman Mark H. Rosenbergwith Philippe and Edith de MontebelloL to R.: Hilda and Arnold H. Neis; Bibi Wojtkowiak and Benefit Committee Chairman Monika McLennanBenefit Committee Chairman Jean-Marie Eveillard, Board of Trustees Chairman Betty Eveillard, and Sally and Howard G. LepowChristina Greer, Molly MacPherson, and Yasmin IbrahimPresident Emerita Helen Clay Chace, Assistant Curator David Pullins, Assistant Museum Educator Rachel Himes, and Manager of Education & Public Programs Adrienne LeiTai-Heng Cheng and Cole HarrellBenefit Committee Chairman Barbara Evans and Trustee and Benefit Committee Chairman Brad Evans with friendsL to R.: Jose and Lydia Blanco; Judith Smith and Anne BorlandEllen Stein and Steven HellerCole Harrell, Yvette Ostolaza, Trustee Emily T. Frick, Lisa Arpey, and Alvise OrsiniJayne Abess and Honoree and Benefit Committee Member Henry P. JohnsonSheila Paloni, John Popa, and Carin PaiTrustee and Benefit Chairman Peter P. Blanchard and Janine E. LukeTrustee and Benefit Committee Chairman Christian Keesee, Benefit Committee Chairman Marina Kellen French, and Edward CaveBenefit Committee Chairman Susan JohnsonGuests in the Oval Room
Photographs by Christine A. Butler & Max Lakner/BFA.com
