D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A
David Patrick Columbia
NEW YORK SO CIAL DIARY IN THE WEEKS leading up to
first day of summer, the gala committees were working overtime. And, in many cases, pulling major donations. On a Tuesday night earlier last month, a gala dinner at the Whitney Museum of American Art raised $4.8 million. The evening also marked the
third anniversary of the museum’s move to its downtown home in the Meatpacking District, and distance certainly didn’t keep away the uptown crowds. They honored artist Lorna Simpson and longtime trustees Joanne Leonhardt Cassullo and Beth Rudin DeWoody.
This year’s sponsor was Audi, and the following Studio Party was sponsored by Audi and Michael Kors. Elizabeth Alexander, president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, paid tribute to Lorna Simpson, one of the leading artists of her generation known for her photo-
graphic and film works, which examine racial and gender identity. “Genius! Genius! Genius!” is how she summed up her consideration of the artist’s talent. The Whitney’s director, Adam Weinberg, paid tribute to two personal friends, who are both members of the Whit-
M A D I S O N E Q U I T I E S , S O T H E B Y ’ S R E A LT Y A N D Q U E S T TO A S T T H E P E N T H O U S E AT 2 1 2 F I F T H
Nikki Field and Martin Tabasso
Rizwan Zaman and Shanna Bender 16 QUEST
Brad Ingalls and Laurie Silverman
Katie Rosenberg and Olivia Hoge
Robert Gladstone
Russell Glotfelty and Jovanna Heavener
S OT H E BY ’ S I N TE R N AT I O N A L R E A LT Y
Michael Valdes