The Parrish Art Museum held another sold-out summer benefit, drawing the cultural community to its doors on July 12, 2014. The Midsummer Party raised $1.25 million for the museum and hosted around 1,000 guests for the dinner and After Ten party, according to the museum. Mingling were a mix of artists, philanthropists, business leaders, socialites, entertainers and movers and shakers from the art world.
The Midsummer Party was hosted by Parrish Art Museum Director Terrie Sultan. It also provided one of the final looks at Jennifer Bartlett's solo show. The benefit honored philanthropist Inga Maren Otto and Katharina Otto-Bernstein, an award-winning author and filmmaker. Both were selected to acknowledge their contributions to the Parrish and arts and culture around the world.
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Terrie Sultan, Katharina Otto Bernstein, and Inga Maren Otto. Photo by Joe Schildhorn/BFANYC.com.
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To view images from the event, view our slideshow:
View Slideshow.
Artists attending included a line-up of exhibiting artists, past and present, plus artists with works held in the Parrish Collection. Spotted at the benefit were Alice Aycock, Jennifer Bartlett, Ross Bleckner, Bryan Hunt, Mel Kendrick, Maya Lin, Donald Lipski, Josephine Meckseper, Dan Rizzie, Dorothea Rockburne, Clifford Ross, Keith Sonnier, Ned Smyth, Donald Sultan, Robert Wilson and Joe Zucker.
The Midsummer Party drew a long list of noteworthy guests.
The list of those attending included Veronica Atkins, Deborah Bancroft, Janna Bullock, Liliana Casabal, Melissa Chiu, Stewart Lane and Bonnie Comley, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Kyle DeWoody, Gale and Ira Drukier, Helene and Ziel Feldman, Wendy Finerman, Susan de Franca, Mary and Howard Frank, H. Peter Haveles Jr., Barbara Goldsmith, Kim Heirston, Dottie Herman, Caroline Hirsch, Lucia Hwong-Gordon, Tony Ingrao and Randy Kemper, Chad A. Leat and Sandra Lee.
Dorothy Lichtenstein, Howard Lorber, Nicole Miller, Richard Mishaan, Alexandra Stanton and Sam Natapoff, Mary Kathryn and Alexander Navab, Charlene and James M. Nederlander, Margo MacNabb Nederlander and James L. Nederlander, Jamie Niven, honorees Inga Maren Otto and Katharina Otto-Bernstein, Sandy and Stephen Perlbinder, Lisa Perry, Douglas Polley, Polina Proshkina, Hilary Geary and Wilbur Ross, Robin and Frederic M. Seegal, Jean and Martin Shafiroff, Ramona and Mario Singer, Barbara J. Slifka, Marcia Dunn Sobel and Jonathan Sobel, Kelly and Jay Sugarman, Cynthia Clift and David K. Wassong, and Arthur Zeckendorf attended the museum benefit.
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The crowd at the event. Photo by Joe Schildhorn/BFANYC.com.
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Ron Wendt Design presented the 2014 Midsummer Party’s décor, inspired by artist Jennifer Bartlett’s painting, Amagansett Diptych #1. The work is part of the museum's permanent collection and was included in the exhibition "Jennifer Bartlett: History of the Universe—Works 1970–2011", which closed on July 13, 2014.
Guests enjoyed a cocktail reception inside the Museum, followed by a sit-down dinner al fresco on the Mildred C. Brinn Terrace at long tables featuring custom blue washed denim tablecloths offset by electric pink chair covers.
Reflecting the prominent grid pattern of Bartlett's work, Wendt lined the tables with handmade narrow gridded wire boxes filled with beach stones and tall hand blown glass vases which reflected the candlelight and supported Nerine lilies overhead. Bands of projected water imagery reflected down the length of the charcoal wooden walls of the terrace while ultra violet lights illuminated glowing pink architectural details in the ceiling. A
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The dining area. Photo by Joe Schildhorn/BFANYC.com.
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After dinner, guests danced in the Museum's Lichtenstein Theater, relaxed in lounge areas around the Museum, and visited the exhibitions in the galleries. Music was provided by Coleman Music of New York City. Performances by dancer and choreographer Richard Move and his multidisciplinary dance theater company MoveOpolis! helped make the benefit a special one.
To view images from the event, view our slideshow:
View Slideshow.
The Parrish Art Museum is one of the oldest cultural institution on the East End of Long Island. The museum is dedicated to the collection, preservation, interpretation, and dissemination of art from the nineteenth century to the present, with a particular focus on honoring the rich creative legacy of the East End.
BASIC INFO: The Parrish Art Museum is located at 279 Montauk Hwy, Water Mill, NY 11976. www.parrishart.org. Exhibitions currently on view include "Platform: Maya Lin" and the second installation the museum's Permanent Collection. On July 20, the Parrish opens the solo exhibition "William Glackens". The survey remains on view through Oct. 13, 2014.