Scene Last Night: Ken Griffin, Sandy Weill, John McEnroe
At the Whitney Museum of American Art’s fall gala last night, the honoree was not an artist, a financier or a celebrity. It was Calvin Tomkins, who has profiled 95 artists for the New Yorker magazine.
His gala speech was better than most.
“Artists are really more interesting than other people, including bankers,” Tomkins said, using the term broadly and, refreshingly for these times, not at all pejoratively. “They know more, they live better, they’re much better cooks -- and they understand real estate.”
Laughter ensued from the mix of artists and bankers.
The gala took place in a former bus depot along the Hudson River, next to a jogging path. Chicago hedge funders Ken Griffin and Anne Dias Griffin as well as artists John Currin and Rachel Feinstein arrived as aspiring athletes with terrycloth headbands and love handles shambled past.
KKR & Co.’s Alexander Navab and artist Chuck Close ate their dinner -- a frisee salad with mushrooms and pecorino, Alaskan cod with faro and black rice -- at mirror-topped tables decorated with freestanding bouquets of hydrangeas and cacti. (Later, they chewed their way through coin-sized pieces of black licorice served in candy dishes after dessert.)
Fitz & the Tantrums
Filmmaker Harvey Weinstein and his wife, Georgina Chapman, actress Michelle Monaghan and model Coco Rocha were among the 650 guests listening to Fitz & the Tantrums, the Los Angeles soul-pop band that released its first full-length album, “Pickin’ Up the Pieces,” last year. The band played a long set, including their hit “Don’t Gotta Work It Out.” In front of the stage, Patty Smyth sat on the lap of her husband, John McEnroe. (The band’s U.S. tour returns to New York on Nov. 10 for a show at Terminal 5.)
Artist Marilyn Minter created a video installation that played on giant screens throughout the dining area consisting of letters falling in slow motion into a pool of liquid.
“The letters spell out ‘Whitney,’” Minter said. “It’s the Whitney making a big splash.”
As honoree, Tomkins received a thick bound volume containing his New Yorker profiles along with responses from his subjects, such as Julie Mehretu, whose mural decorates the lobby of Goldman Sachs’s building in lower Manhattan.
The gala raised $3.2 million.
The spotlight at Carnegie Hall’s opening night gala was on Valery Gergiev, who conducted the Mariinsky Orchestra in a muscular, bright performance that included an encore, the Polonaise from “Eugene Onegin.”
Caviar was on offer at the cocktail hour, and Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov were on the program. Perhaps the only thing not Russian on stage was the soloist, cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
Sandy Weill said the evening was about Americans and Russians coming together. The guest list included David Gray, managing partner Russia of PricewaterhouseCoopers Russia B.V., as well as Ed Forst, co-head of investment management at Goldman Sachs Group & Co.
Weill said he has two tuxedos. “When I’m in New York, I wear them a lot,” he said.
The tuxes don’t go with him to his home in Sonoma, California.
“Sonoma is about clear air, good weather and great wines,” Weill said.
The gala raised almost $2.8 million.
(Amanda Gordon is a writer and photographer for Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. Any opinions expressed are her own.)
-- With assistance from Zinta Lundborg. Editors: Jeffrey Burke, Laurie Muchnick.
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.
Whitney Gala
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Calvin Tomkins, a writer for The New Yorker, and the Whitney Gala's honoree, with his wife, Dodie Kazanjian.
Calvin Tomkins, a writer for The New Yorker, and the Whitney Gala's honoree, with his wife, Dodie Kazanjian. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Whitney Gala
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Ken Griffin, CEO, Citadel LLC, and Anne Dias Griffin, managing partner, Aragon Global Managment LLC and a Whitney trustee.
Ken Griffin, CEO, Citadel LLC, and Anne Dias Griffin, managing partner, Aragon Global Managment LLC and a Whitney trustee. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Whitney Gala
Jeff Kearns/Bloomberg
Tim Armstrong, CEO and chairman, AOL Inc., and Adam Weinberg, director, Whitney Museum of American Art.
Tim Armstrong, CEO and chairman, AOL Inc., and Adam Weinberg, director, Whitney Museum of American Art. Photographer: Jeff Kearns/Bloomberg
Whitney Gala
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Michelle Monaghan, who stars in the film "Machine Gun Preacher," Harvey Weinstein, Georgina Chapman of the fashion label Marchesa, and model Bar Rafaeli.
Michelle Monaghan, who stars in the film "Machine Gun Preacher," Harvey Weinstein, Georgina Chapman of the fashion label Marchesa, and model Bar Rafaeli. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Whitney Gala
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Shahab Karmely, a real state developer, John Paulson, of Paulson & Co., Libby Karmely (wearing a cross designed by her husband), and Jenny Paulson.
Shahab Karmely, a real state developer, John Paulson, of Paulson & Co., Libby Karmely (wearing a cross designed by her husband), and Jenny Paulson. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Whitney Gala
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Glenn Fuhrman, co-managing partner, MSD Capital LP, and Amanda Fuhrman.
Glenn Fuhrman, co-managing partner, MSD Capital LP, and Amanda Fuhrman. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Whitney Gala
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Justine Koons and John McEnroe.
Justine Koons and John McEnroe. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Whitney Gala
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Rirkrit Tiravanija, an artist whose social installations have included meals in galleries.
Rirkrit Tiravanija, an artist whose social installations have included meals in galleries. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Whitney Gala
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Vito Schnabel, an art dealer, and Mallory Neidich, daughter of Whitney Museum co-chairman Brooke Neidich.
Vito Schnabel, an art dealer, and Mallory Neidich, daughter of Whitney Museum co-chairman Brooke Neidich. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Whitney Gala
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Bill Miller and Marilyn Minter, who created video installations for the dining area at the gala.
Bill Miller and Marilyn Minter, who created video installations for the dining area at the gala. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Whitney Gala
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
The Whitney Gala's co-chairmen, Jill Bikoff, Ginevra Caltagirone and Fern Kaye Tessler had the honor of introducing the band Fitz & The Tantrums.
The Whitney Gala's co-chairmen, Jill Bikoff, Ginevra Caltagirone and Fern Kaye Tessler had the honor of introducing the band Fitz & The Tantrums. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Whitney Gala
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Fitz & The Tantrums performed after dessert.
Fitz & The Tantrums performed after dessert. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Whitney Gala
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Model Coco Rocha.
Model Coco Rocha. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Carnegie Hall
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Joan Weill and Sandy Weill, chairman of Carnegie Hall.
Joan Weill and Sandy Weill, chairman of Carnegie Hall. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Carnegie Hall
Chris Lee/Getty Images
Cellist Yo Yo Ma, conductor Valery Gergiev and the Marrinsky Orchestra.
Cellist Yo Yo Ma, conductor Valery Gergiev and the Marrinsky Orchestra. Photographer: Chris Lee/Getty Images
Carnegie Hall
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
David Gray, Managing Partner Russia, PricewaterhouseCoopers Russia B.V., and Maria Gray.
David Gray, Managing Partner Russia, PricewaterhouseCoopers Russia B.V., and Maria Gray. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Carnegie Hall
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Mary Klein, partner, Ernst & Young. Her hair stylist helped her put on the gloves.
Mary Klein, partner, Ernst & Young. Her hair stylist helped her put on the gloves. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
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