Hamptons Scene: Alec Baldwin, Richard Prince, Donald Mullen
Alec Baldwin made his art-buying intentions clear Friday night at the Summer Gala Benefit Auction for Guild Hall, the East Hampton art and entertainment complex.
“Just get the hell out of my way when Clifford Ross comes up,” he said under a tent on the grounds of a Long Island estate near Guild Hall. “I really want it and I’m going to get it.”
When Ross’s 2008 “Hurricane LI,” a scene of crashing waves, came up for auction, Baldwin playfully glared and glowered at competing bidder Donald Mullen, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s global head of credit.
Ultimately, the “30 Rock” star, who says he is thinking about a New York City mayoral run, made the winning $70,000 bid.
“I have a room in my apartment that I’m decorating all in black-and-white photography,” Baldwin said, moments after Simon de Pury, chairman of Phillips de Pury & Co., gaveled the sale. “I have another by Sally Mann of the Virginia countryside -- southern roads and mansions -- which I bought at a Guild Hall auction a few years ago. This will be a great bookend.”
Baldwin said reactions to his possible mayoral run have varied: “Either people are supportive or they think I’m crazy.”
As guests dined on hangar steak and shaved beets, De Pury auctioned six items, including a 2011 Eric Fischl watercolor nude that went for $100,000.
Mullen, who wore his sunglasses most of the night, paid $100,000 for a Barbara Kruger print of a man wearing a blindfold over which appears the sentence, in red lettering, “He entered shop after shop, priced nothing, spoke no word, and looked at all objects with a wild and vacant stare.”
Richard Prince, the artist, paid $30,000 for Bryan Hunt’s 2002 bronze sculpture “Maenad II.”
‘Covering Pollock’
The event began with guests, including Glenn Fuhrman, co- managing partner of MSD Capital, art dealer Larry Gagosian and Martha Stewart, the event’s honoree, visiting Guild Hall to view a Richard Prince exhibition titled “Covering Pollock,” which opened Saturday and is on view through Oct. 17.
The works are composed of photographs of or related to Jackson Pollock, which Prince has collaged with other images and paint.
“Pollock was the first artist who interested me,” Prince told Lisa Phillips, the director of the New Museum, in an interview distributed at the show. “I was very attracted to the idea of someone who was by himself, fairly antisocial, kind of a loner, someone who was noncollaborative.”
Prince was hardly antisocial at the benefit. He joined the dancing at the end of the night during the Foreigner tune “Hot Blooded.” Keith Richards’s daughter, Alexandra Richards, was the deejay. The event, attended by 260 guests, raised $500,000.
(Amanda Gordon is a writer and photographer for Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. Any opinions expressed are her own.)
To contact the writer on this story: Amanda Gordon in New York at agordon01@bloomberg.net or on Twitter at @amandagordon.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.
Guild Hall Benefit
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Ruth Applehof, executive director, Guild Hall, with Alec Baldwin and Martha Stewart.
Ruth Applehof, executive director, Guild Hall, with Alec Baldwin and Martha Stewart. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Guild Hall Benefit
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The cocktail reception and dinner were held on the grounds of an estate in East Hampton on the market for $29 million.
The cocktail reception and dinner were held on the grounds of an estate in East Hampton on the market for $29 million. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Guild Hall Benefit
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Models wearing Van Cleef & Arpels jewels stood guard at the party. Van Cleef was the lead sponsor of the benefit.
Models wearing Van Cleef & Arpels jewels stood guard at the party. Van Cleef was the lead sponsor of the benefit. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Guild Hall Benefit
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Amanda Furhman and Glenn Furhman, co-managing partner and co-founder MSD Capital LP.
Amanda Furhman and Glenn Furhman, co-managing partner and co-founder MSD Capital LP. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Guild Hall Benefit
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Lisa Phillips, director of the New Museum, and Richard Prince, in his exhibition at Guild Hall, "Covering Pollock."
Lisa Phillips, director of the New Museum, and Richard Prince, in his exhibition at Guild Hall, "Covering Pollock." Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Guild Hall Benefit
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Leila Straus, chairman of the American Associates of the National Theatre, Norman Benzaquen, partner, Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. and chairman, Orchestra of St. Luke's, and Judy Zankel, a Carnegie Hall trustee.
Leila Straus, chairman of the American Associates of the National Theatre, Norman Benzaquen, partner, Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. and chairman, Orchestra of St. Luke's, and Judy Zankel, a Carnegie Hall trustee. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Guild Hall Benefit
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Stacey Bronfman and Matthew Bronfman, chairman, BHB Holdings Inc.
Stacey Bronfman and Matthew Bronfman, chairman, BHB Holdings Inc. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Guild Hall Benefit
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Michael Lynne, a benefit co-chairman, and Larry Gagosian, whose gallery was a benefit sponsor.
Michael Lynne, a benefit co-chairman, and Larry Gagosian, whose gallery was a benefit sponsor. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Guild Hall Benefit
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Alexandra Richards, party deejay.
Alexandra Richards, party deejay. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Guild Hall Benefit
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
The event's caterer was Peter Callahan. Martha Stewart sampled the miniature chocolate souffle served in a cup with a spoon.
The event's caterer was Peter Callahan. Martha Stewart sampled the miniature chocolate souffle served in a cup with a spoon. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
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