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CONTENTS T he S ummer Issue 70
Easy Summer living
78
From the Adirondacks to Southampton—with stops
100
in Millbrook and Newport—we visit the best East Coast summer colonies.
spirit of the seas
Our cover girl visits with Donald Tofias to find out the
magic behind his new line of boats, the W-class. by Camilla Bradley
82
Classics off the cape
resorts; here, two American classics go head-to-head. by Daniel Cappello
Off the shores of Massachusetts lie two idyllic summer
88 stable mates No matter what horse country you prefer, a new book explores
the unique homes that are built for horses.
94
visions of the new world
magnificent art.
100
by
by
Georgina Schaeffer
A review of the Hudson River and its
R. Alexander Boyle And W. Douglas Dechert
a bright light legacy
A closer look at America’s first family of fireworks,
the Gruccis, and their dazzling displays around the world.
by
Rebecca Brown
78
david doubilet Underwater photographer. Explorer. Artist. Marine naturalist and protector of the ocean habitat. Author of a dozen books on the sea. For 50 years, his passion has illuminated the hidden depths of the Earth.
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new york
56
54
CONTENTS C olumns 14
Chronicles of the social scene.
Social Diary
52 54
56
Social Calendar
HARRY BENSON
observations
58
Fresh Finds
62
canteens
Philanthropy
68
by
David Patrick Columbia
Our guide to the month’s best benefits, balls, and more.
Remembering a day with Ned Rorem on Nantucket. Our resident Greek muses about his homeland.
Our favorite fashions.
by
Daniel Cappello
by
and
Taki Theodoracopulos
Elizabeth Meigher
58 A visit to Newport’s landmark eatery.
by
D aniel C appello
The Perimeter Association of the Central Park Conservancy.
104 pets Your favorite dogs tell us what they look forward to this summer. 106
young & the guest list
Partying with the junior set. By E lizabeth Brown
110 Appearances Hilary takes us inside the best parties in the city. by Hilary Geary 112 snapshot A visit to the Elias Pelletreau shop. By Georgina Schaeffer
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Editor-in-Chief
David Patrick Columbia c r e a t i v e d i r ec t o r
james stoffel e x ec u t i v e e d i t o r
georgina schaeffer senior editor
rachel corbett FASHION e d i t o r
daniel cappello a s s o c i a t e a r t d i r ec t o r
valeria fox A s s o c i at e e d i to r
Elizabeth Brown Societ y editor
Hilary Geary interns
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oliver ames rebecca brown Essie Gavrilov christina arza Contributing writers
camilla bradley r. alexander boyle
P E T
James macguire
P O R T R A I T S
w. douglas dechert HARRY BENSON elizabeth meigher rebecca morsE Taki Theodoracopulos michael thomas Contributing photographers
Harry Benson Lucien Capehart jeanne chisholm mimi ritzen crawford Jack Deutsch mary hilliard jeffrey hirsch cutty mcgill Patrick McMullan
LOUISE MASANO PASTEL PORTRAITS FROM EXISTING or original PHOTOGRAPHY 205 E.78TH ST. NEW YORK, NY 10075 212 300-6486 lamasano@earthlink.net
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LONDON TOWNCARS Of New York Since 1959
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pleasure just from reading and recalling, even if not being present. My personal, and quite memorable, experience with the Adirondacks was only for one summer in the late 1960s. I was in what turned out to be a brief pursuit of an ill-fated career as an actor and I had landed a job in a summer stock company in Lake Placid, New York, in the heart of the Adirondacks. Lake Placid is a beautiful part of the country and one of the most beautiful parts of the state. There are so many lakes, big and redolent, mixing with the perfumes of woodlands. At first, its summertime weather seemed a lot like what I’d known back in Massachusetts: sunny and warm, sometimes very warm, From left: Judy Garland, star of In the Good Old Summertime; a 1966 ad for the Ford Mustang convertible. humid, sometimes quite cool at night, We’re in The Good Old Summertime. I was a kid when and sometimes rain. Although, in Lake Placid, the “sometimes the movie with that title came out, starring Judy Garland and rain” was more like every twenty minutes. It was the oddest thing. You’d have a beautiful sunny day Van Johnson. I don’t remember it, but I probably saw it because, in those days, all the kids in the neighborhood went to the mov- with bright blue skies, then, in early afternoon, a massive bank ies as much as possible in the summertime. Then we went home of dark clouds would show up on the horizon. The cloud mass and played out a variation of the movie in our backyards until would grow more and more intense as it darkened, whipping the suppertime. (“The Greatest Show On Earth” produced several air to chill with its oncoming moisture. Instinctively, you were ready for a monsoon. Then, minutes, if not seconds, later the neighborhood trapeze artists—although no elephants.) The film’s title, however, has stuck in my craw forever after, skies would open up and it would come down and pour. And probably because it divines so thoroughly the pleasantest sense then after about twenty minutes, it would let up, and then stop. After a rain like that you might anticipate a residual damp, memories of what this time of the year was (and still is) to millions of us. Summer delivers. It starts when you’re a kid: school’s maybe a cloudy afternoon following. But, in Lake Placid, the out, there’s swimming, balmy nights by the sea or the lake, ice dark clouds just all rolled away. The sun shone bright again, and cream, frozen custards, and sand on the sheets. New Yorkers within less than an hour there wasn’t the slightest sign of any torrespond to this as energetically as they respond to everything rential rain storm. This happened often, sometimes even more than once or even twice a day. else they like—they go! Sense memories. You’re going to have a few of them In this month’s Quest, we take a look at where you might find a Quest reader at this moment, in the good ole summertime. yourself in this issue. The best things in life, they call Looking over the list of our reports on harbors and destinations, them…summertime. u I realized that by dint of being born and bred in the Northeast, I was very familiar with almost all of them. As a child, my family went to lakes where an aunt and uncle had a cottage. And during David Patrick Columbia the first two weeks of July, we went to the Cape en masse with my eldest sister and her little ones, renting two small cottages on the top of a sandy cliff in North Eastham. Paradise doubled. When I came to live in New York after college, summertime on the cover: was weekends. I followed the crowd I was traveling around with, Camilla Bradley and Ryan and that was to Southampton. Southampton was popular with Jones leap from the W-Class its longtime summer residents, and we “singles” were almost yacht White Wings, off the invasive (but someone needed the money). coast of Newport. Camilla Still, Southampton was a very quiet little village. Even on a wears the Oscar dress in Saturday afternoon on Main Street. The first time I saw a Ford pink and Ryan wears the Mustang convertible (then the newest, hottest car in America) Cortina dress in yellow, both was on Main Street on a Saturday mid-afternoon in July. I from C.K.Bradley. Caspar remember it so clearly because it was the only car parked on Ouvaroff, on deck, wears a Main Street and therefore I got a good look at all sides. REDD by Robert Redd shirt. Running down the list: Newport, Nantucket, the Adirondacks, Photograph by Amory Ross. up on the Hudson, Millbrook, down Maine. All of it promises 1 2 Q UE S T
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PA L M B E A C H
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N E W YO R K
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BARCELONA
EST. 1870
ART WALLY FINDLAY
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 All the world’s a stage. It’s been a hot summer in New York. These hot days evoke memories of those cold rainy summer days when you were a kid down at the beach or up at the lake, where it could even get chilly at night and require a fire in the fireplace. I’m not sure those summers happen
anymore, though I do recall that the past two summers of ’09 and ’08 were very moderate and the city was a beautiful place. Summertime was, like when I was a kid, a beautiful season. The social life in the city has basically migrated en masse— to many places, but mainly
out east. A growing number of vacationers head out to Aspen. Others head for the lakes nearby and to the north. Plus the Vineyard, the Cape, and Newport. Newport was once the center without peer of New York society (for the months of July and August). Now
it’s the dowager great aunt, so regal and ladylike. Its memories are institutionalized along Bellevue Avenue. Now, the center is without question is The Hamptons. Forty years ago they weren’t known in the parlance as the Hamptons. The area was mainly a farming area except
t h e t h i r t e e n t h a n n ua l m a s h om ac k i n t e r n at i o n a l p o l o c h a l l e n g e i n p i n e p l a i n s
Blaine Trump and Kara Georgiopoulos 14 QUEST
Dagny Mactaggart awards trophies to Bryan Colley, Woody Keesee, Julio Ezcurra, and John Klopp
Bill Stahl and Bambi Putnam
Fernanda Kellogg
Libby Mavrolean and CeCe Cord
Valesca Guerrand-Hermes
pat r i c k m c m u ll a n
John Regan and Felicity Bontecou
D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A t h e n at i o n a l c e n t e r fo r l e a r n i n g d i s a b i l i t i e s held its thirt y-third annual benefit dinner on a tribec a rooftop
Bill vanden Heuvel and Ashley van Perfall
for the summer people who went to one town or another. Each town defined (generally speaking) the kind of person who went there. There were old WASPs who still used the Social Register as their phone book, an artist community, Wall Streeters, Manhattan restaurateurs, and hotshot entertainment lawyers. People who might have to get back to town on a call. Westhampton had a “type.” Quoque was a kind of WASPy, not that different from Westhampton. And Remsenburg was almost a secret, and people liked it that way. Southampton had a lot 16 QUEST
Mackenzie Meyer, Anne Ford, Michael Bloomberg and Allegra Uzielli
Farah and Morris Moinian
of those, but it had the bigtime Roman Catholics who associated with the Old Guard—in the glitzy sense. There were families that had been there for more than a generation, maybe two or three. The rich. Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan, the former Duchess of Marlborough, Henry DuPont, and Cordelia Robertson. Names associated with High Society in a world of palaces and kings. Their issue became what was then the Jet Set, who traveled between New York, Montego, the South of France, the Mediterranean, the English countryside—and Southampton. Right next door, in
Mary Kalikow, Charlotte Ford and Rosemarie Lieberman
Bridgehampton, with a main drag that only saw traffic jams on the 4th. Sagaponack had artists, writers, editors, and advertising men who read about the Southampton people. Then there’s Wainscott. Wainscott? You almost had to be a local to have heard of it. It was a post office on the way to East Hampton. North of the highway, there were potato fields and more potato fields. Cornfields too. By the time you got to East Hampton, beautiful East Hampton, you knew this was another one of those esoteric beach communities that required a certain “type” to live there. More WASPs.
Society? Maybe, maybe not—but certainly the rich. The Bouviers lived there, as we know. But East Hampton was out there. Montauk was so far away no one went there. I’m old enough to remember when the drive from Southampton to East Hampton on a Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. was almost car-less. Not because nobody lived there, but because the people who lived there stayed there. They didn’t move back and forth on an hourly basis. That was the world of sunkissed faces and sand and surf, when most families would be in bed well before midnight. In the mid-1960s, following
j a n e t c h a r le s
James Carville and Paula Zahn
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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A the popularity in Manhattan of discotheques like Le Club, L’Interdit, and Shepheards, there were several discos that opened in the various towns. There was Mitty’s General Store on Route 27 on the way to Bridgehampton. There was the Bull’s Head Inn in Bridge, owned by a DuPont heiress named Francis Carpenter. Carpenter, who wore the reddest lipstick was one of those international glamour girls whose reputation was pailletted in silver and gold with a few baguettes here and there for that extra oomph. And then there was L’Oursin, located in a barn down a dirt road in the woods somewhere between South and East. Inside was rustic and worn, with tables and banquettes around a large dance floor, over which hung an enormous crystal chandelier, said to be a gift from the Maharajah of
Baroda. Somebody like that. The girls wore minis, the boys madras pants, Gucci loafers, and lightweight open cotton shirts. It was the Twist and the Frug and The Beatles singing: “Well, she was just seventeen, if you know what I mean, and the way she looked was way beyond compare; I’ll never dance with another since I saw her standing there…” That was then. Times change. Do they ever. Summer weddings, family histories. Chelsea Clinton, daughter and only child of former President William Jefferson Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will marry Mark Mezvinsky, on the 31st of this month in Rhinebeck, New York, at a venue called the Astor Courts on the old Astor estate, Ferncliff Farm. The choice, evidently, is strategic (a romantic, pastoral setting within reasonable
driving proximity to the bride’s family residence in Chappaqua, to New York, and still far enough from the madding crowd to keep the festivities private and special for the marrying couple and their families and friends. No doubt there will be cadres of vid trucks and clamoring reporters and sightseers anxious to catch a glimpse of the newlyweds, the former President, the Secretary of State, and any other boldfacer who may be there. History lesson. The Hudson Valley resonates throughout early American folklore and literature. During the Industrial Revolution, it became a destination for those who dominated what Mark Twain called the Gilded Age. Ferncliff and its possessors are the very epicenter of that era. It was the aforementioned
proximities and the magnificent untouched setting that appealed to its original owner, William Backhouse Astor, Jr., grandson of the original John Jacob Astor. Young Astor bought the property in the middle of the nineteenth century when he was newly married to Caroline Webster Schermerhorn. He was drawn to the area for its beauty, as well as its ancestral heritage, which his family and he had married into. The grandfather, John Jacob the First, came to America in the 1790s from Waldorf, Germany, with little more than the clothes on his back and an indefatigable ambition. The new country America was his land of opportunity. He became a trader with imperial China in beaver pelts (they all wanted the hats to keep their heads warm) and opium. He made a fortune in both
St r i b l i n g toa st e d i ts n e w pa r t n e r s h i p w i t h s av i l l s at t h e r e s i d e n c e o f f e r n a n d a k e l l o g g a n d K i r k h e n c k e l s
Elizabeth Ann Kivlan and Martin Gibson 18 QUEST
Oliver Bareau and Elizabeth Stribling
Elizabeth Stribling delivers her “State of the City”
Brian D’Arcy Clark, Ken Scheff and Brett Driscoll
Victor Tuohy and Rosita Sarnoff
Grace Meigher and Jim Herbert
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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A “commodities,” establishing export businesses on both coasts. From the western part of the continent, which was still inhabited almost entirely by Native Americans, and largely unexplored by all but the most entrepreneurial (that being a sleek word for a hardscrabble and dangerous existence), Astor created an empire. With his great profits, J.J. Astor the First began buying Manhattan real estate. It was not called real estate then. It was “land, lots, plots, farms, acreage.” Ironically, there was so much “land” in the New World. New York, a city of 65,000, in 1805, was centered around what
is now the southernmost downtown, Soho, Tribeca, Greenwich Village, and the tip of the island. A horse and carriage ride from there up to what is now 59th Street and Fifth Avenue took four hours through rocky, hilly terrain. Nevertheless, Astor understood the city’s harbor, one of the best in the world, could only grow and grow. He bought farms and plots running up Broadway, which had been a path created by the Native Americans long before the Europeans arrived. Today’s West 30th Street was exurban. He either built houses on the land or leased it out for others to build houses
and rent, holding the leases. By his death in 1848, John Jacob Astor was the largest landowner in the city, collecting rents all the way up Broadway to what is now Times Square and beyond, and one of the world’s richest men with a fortune estimated at more than $100 billion in today’s dollars. On his deathbed, when asked if he had any regrets, he allegedly replied, “yes, that I didn’t buy more of Manhattan.” The patriarch had two sons and three daughters. The first born son, John Jacob II, is remembered as “feebleminded” and never worked for his father. The second, William Backhouse Astor, was
first sent back to Germany for his education and then joined his father in what was still the family store (the China trade). Young Astor served as a glorified accountant. However, he did follow his father and increased the family holdings. When he married, to the daughter of a Revolutionary War General, it was move up, a matter of great interest to the immigrant father. When the patriarch died, William inherited control of the Astor Estate holdings. Early nineteenth-century society in New York—and there was a “society” —was comprised of ancestors of the early Dutch and British settlers. When the Germans,
t h e c e n t r a l pa r k c o n s e r v a n c y ’ s w o m e n ’ s c o m m i t t e e h e l d i t s a n n u a l p l a y g r o u n d p a r t y
Kelly Klein with Lukas 20 QUEST
Andrea Dubois with Brandon
Kathryn Beach with Lilly and Gentry, Jr.
Valerie Aston and Allison Aston with Nick and Jett
Whitney Topping with Robert
Stephanie Coleman with Devon
pat r i c k m c m u ll a n
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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A T h e c i t i z e n s ’ c om m i t t e e fo r c h i l d r e n ’ s b e n e f i t at t h e Mom a
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such as J.J. Astor, arrived, they preceded the Irish and eastern European immigrants, who became the subsequent underclass, treated thusly by the elite. Actually, the AfricanAmericans, mainly freed or escaped slaves originally, have been here as long or longer than all the others, including the Dutch and the English. The Wiliam B. Astors had six children. The last child, Henry, would be disowned and mainly disinherited by his father for marrying the gardener’s daughter. (Henry built an estate-farm in Columbia County and lived, compared to many of his Astor relatives, very happily—and very grandly—ever after.) 22 QUEST
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The other two sons, John Jacob III and William B., Jr., were their father’s principal heirs. (In those days, female children were not regarded as worthy of or in need of inheritance, just as it often still is in England and elsewhere.) This practice of primogeniture had its effects. John Jacob III, the eldest, ran the business. William, Jr., had very little to do or say (John Jacob also inherited the largest share). When young William, Jr., was 25, he married Caroline Webster Schermerhorn, from one of the city’s most prominent Dutch familes, as well as some English. This was another marriage “up” for the
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Astors. The family fortune was also third generation now. The free and wealthy young husband and father to indulged in luxurious pleasure, Victorian style. He bought up several farms in that part of Rhinebeck known as the Ferncliff Forest, and built a house overlooking the Hudson. It was a big clapboard Victorian ark of a place, with tall stiff turrets and rambling porches, and a magnificent view of the river. He named it Ferncliff Farm, after the area. He and his wife had five children—five girls and a boy, the last named John Jacob (Jack) IV. By the mid 1870s, his wife, Lina Astor, as she was
called, had become The Mrs. Astor in New York, ruling society with an iron hand (in a velvet glove). William, now middle-aging, had long ago abdicated interest in participating, spending a good deal of his up in Rhinebeck, or traveling the world on one his sea-going yachts in the company of cronies and amusing women. By the time the only son Jack was born at Ferncliff, Lina had grown to loathe the place. Her springtimes were spent in Paris in the era of Proust’s characters. In New York and Paris, her husband was present and accounted for on the most important occasions. It was well known
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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A that he loathed society, including, perhaps, its queen. William. B. Astor, Jr., died in 1892 of a brain aneurism at the Hotel Liverpool in Paris. He was sixty-three. It was the end of a life of indulgence, pleasure, and disappointment. Son Jack, then 28, inherited the bulk of his father’s fortune. The financial worthiness of the female family members remained unfounded in the men’s eyes. Without any other male heir, Jack Astor was the head of the American Astor family, (his cousin, William Waldorf Astor, having abandoned the territory for England). Young Jack Astor was energetic and enterprising.
He was a tall and rangy man, with a strong mechanical aptitude and a mind for inventing. His great wealth, however, always preceded him. He was looked upon as a playboy or a jackass or a bore. A man’s man. He busied himself with his interests, his social life, and with writing, as well as some real-estate developments of his own. When cousin Waldorf pulled up stakes for London, he tore down his Fifth Avenue brownstone mansion and covered the plot with the Waldorf hotel. This caused much chagrin with his nextdoor neighbor, Aunt Lina. This no doubt pleased him because he had for years
resented that Lina had laid claim to the title of “The Mrs. Astor” (as if there were no other). Jack Astor, however, saw it as an opportunity and ran with the idea. He tore down his mother’s matching brownstone on the other corner of the block on 34th Street, and built the Astoria in its place. Eventually, the two merged, creating the institution that remains today on Park Avenue between 49th and 50th streets. After the Astoria, Jack went on to build the Hotel Knickerbocker on 42nd Street and Broadway and the St. Regis—both still standing today.
The year before his father’s death, Jack Astor married a young woman from Philadelphia named Ava Lowle Willing. This was another suitable marriage. Philadelphians were regarded, especially by themselves, along with Bostonians, to be the real American society. Many, including New Yorkers, concurred. Ava Lowle Willing was irresistibly beautiful—and vain. It wasn’t long into the marriage that the newlyweds became bored with each other. Their firstborn was William Vincent, always known as Vincent. By the time he was a little boy, his parents’ marriage was essentially a public image.
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Oil and water, and ultimately as poisonous. Like his father, Jack Astor escaped on ocean-going yachts, amusing women, and wife-less times at Ferncliff. In 1903, he hired Stanford White, of McKim, Mead, and White, to design a large facility across the drive from the main house, equipped with kitchen, reception rooms, guest bedrooms, an indoor tennis court, squash quarts, a bowling alley, a billiards room, a barbershop and arguably the first private indoor swimming pool in America—really a private men’s club. It was called the casino-playhouse. The playhouse, its exterior 26 QUEST
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design inspired by the Grand Trianon at Versailles, was also used for big entertainments and as a guesthouse, primarily bachelor quarters. This project occurred ten years into the marriage. By then, Ava Astor, like her mother-in-law, Lina, had developed a definite lack of fondness for the place, as well as for Jack Astor, the man. The year before construction of the playhouse began, in 1902, Ava gave birth to a daughter, Alice. From the beginning of the girl’s life, the world of society seemed to know that Jack Astor was not her father. More than one man was named, but never Astor.
In 1909, after several years of mainly estrangement, the Astors divorced. According to family stories passed down, Ava was an abusive mother. Her son was emotionally abandoned and largely ignored. The child resented her, and was afraid of her. Two years after his divorce, Jack Astor married Madeleine Force. He was forty-seven, she was 18. The age difference created such a scandal that the couple exiled themselves to England to escape the heat of the gossip. Seven months later, returning to the United States on the RMS Titanic, Jack Astor bid his young wife, five months
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pregnant, goodbye as she was helped into the lifeboat. She had been married seven months. Four months later to the day, August 14, 1912, their son John Jacob Astor VI was born. Tw e n t y - o n e - y e a r - o l d Vincent inherited his father’s fortune, estimated between $50 and $100 million, or tens of billions in today’s currency, and he became known as the Richest Boy in the World. Vincent Astor loved Ferncliff. He coveted his memories with his father there, and refused to share it or any of it or any of his inheritance with his new half-brother. Instead, he openly questioned
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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A t h e “ s p i r i t o f ac h i e v e m e n t ” l u n c h eo n at t h e p i e r r e benefited the albert einstein college of medicine
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the legitimacy and paternity of his father’s last child and kept that thought all his life. At age 25, the richest boy in the world married Helen Dinsmore Huntington, whom he had known since childhood, and who grew up on a neighboring estate. Shortly before the wedding, Vincent came down with a case of the mumps that rendered him sterile. Within a few years, the novelty of marriage wore off for one or both of them. It was known that Vincent had begun to keep mistresses. It was not known by most people, at least not publicly, that Helen had Sapphic connections 28 QUEST
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that nurtured her. In the mid-1930s, Vincent struck up a relationship with Minnie (Mary Benedict) Cushing, daughter of Dr. Harvey Cushing, the premier neurosurgeon in America, and a folkloric hero of sorts. He met Minnie through her sister, Betsey, who was then married to James Roosevelt, eldest son of the President, a cousin of Vincent’s. Vincent Astor was very proud of his family connection to FDR. The Cushing-Astor relationship took hold. In 1937, Minnie’s mother took it upon herself to suggest to Vincent that he divorce Helen (who later married an old
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family friend, Lytle Hull) and make an honest women out of her eldest daughter. He did. The Cushing-Astors lived together for three years, and then, in the autumn of 1940, they married in East Hampton, just a week after Minnie’s baby sister Barbara (known as Babe) married Stanley Mortimer. Ferncliff by then had changed with the new generation. Sister Alice had married the Russian Prince Serge Obolensky, and Vincent gifted her a stone mansion on the property, designed by Mott B. Schmidt, which she called Marienhuh, also overlooking the River. Vincent
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had also built an elaborate miniature railroad to tool around the property (which also had miles of paths for horses as well as road—there were more than 3,000 acres accumulated by Vincent’s father and grandfather). Minnie, who was artistic and a supporter of designers, interior decorators, and artists, redecorated the big house with little obvious enthusiasm, and never came to like the old firetrap. In fact, she came to loathe Ferncliff, just as her motherin-law and grandmother-inlaw had before her. The focus of her complaints was the main house. Finally,
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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A Vincent (whom she called “Winsie”) agreed to let her tear down the century-old house of his heritage, and makeover the casino-playhouse as a residence. The demolition took place when Vincent was away in the service. It has been said that when he returned he was deeply saddened to see that all that was left of three generations of Astors were the stone steps. Minnie had Alice Astor’s then fourth husband, David Pleydell-Bouverie, designed a red brick tea pavilion on the site. With the new “main house,” formerly the playhouse, completed, Minnie filled her autumn weekends with
guests from her world, the literary, artists, Hollywood and theater types (and society of course): Josh and Nedda Logan, the Sitwells, the film actress Annabella, Fred and Adele Astaire, Bea Lillie, Thelma Chrysler Foy, Bill and Dorothy Paley, Elsa Maxwell, Fulco Verdura, Moss and Kitty Carlisle Hart, Jerome Zerbe, the designer Valentina, and even the new self-styled wunderkind, little Truman Capote. Minnie had breathed new life into the old place, and Vincent liked very little of it. These were major changes for a man whose friends were neighbors and cousins and distant relations, old Hudson Valley patricians and New
York bluebloods. Theater people, artists, and decorators were “pansies” to Vincent Astor, and he was not the kind of guy who liked “pansies.” He showed it with noisy disdain and intolerance. Vincent and Minnie’s life together, at least after marriage, became a charade not unlike that of his mother and father and his grandmother and grandfather. Not unlike his marriage to Helen—even with Vincent believing out loud that Minnie had a Sapphic connection, like Helen. By the late 1940s, Vincent and Minnie Astor had been a couple for more than ten years. Mrs. Vincent Astor’s sisters were also remarried,
to Jock Whitney and William Paley. The world was at her feet. And nobody in her crowd liked Vincent. Nor, so it would appear, did she. In the early 1950s, Minnie told Vincent she wanted out. He was upset…about being left alone. It was like his mother all over again. He insisted that she find a wife for him before she left. The hunt began. At her urging, he proposed to two women he had known most of his adult life. Both turned him down. Finally, Minnie came through. According to an oft-told, partially true story, it was a young widow named Brooke Russell Marshall. Coincidentally, Marshall’s
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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A e l m u s eo d e l b a r r i o ’ s a n n ua l g a l a at c i p r i a n i
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late husband had previously been married to Helen Huntington Astor’s sister. That coincidence in itself was a welcome recommendation for Vincent. Vincent and Minnie Astor were divorced in October 1953, thirteen years and a week after they married. Before the month was out, Minnie married the much younger James Whitney Fosburgh, and shortly thereafter Vincent married Brooke Marshall, forever after known as Brooke Astor. Ferncliff, the playhouse, remained in the man’s life. The new wife took to redecorating, but this time 32 QUEST
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with verve. (In the early 1960s, she redecorated with the help of “Sister” Parish and it was photographed for Town & Country. When she decided to sell the place, the rug from the great room went to the Board Room of the New York Public Library). If the third Mrs. Astor didn’t like Ferncliff, it wasn’t common knowledge. She made a valiant effort for the man who was really like an overgrown boy. Six years later, fortuitously for his wife whose patience had begun to wear thin like those who came before, Vincent Astor died, in his sixty-eighth year. For a few years, she kept
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Ferncliff, but eventually sold off most of the property, donating some of it to a nature conservancy and some to a convent. The old house was gone, and so, finally, were the Astors and their ghosts. Astor Courts was restored in the last few years by Sam White, the great-grandson of the original architect. The new owners, Kathleen Hammer and Arthur Seelbinder, worked with the architect. Vincent Astor would have been very proud that his father’s playhouse, by the twenty-first century, had become the venue for the wedding of the daughter of a President of the United States,
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in the tradition of his beloved FDR, and of a Senator and Secretary of State. That would have been one invitation that would have interested him and his deep, abiding sense of patriotism. There are no scandals anymore—only bad marriages. The big names in news that surprised everybody— although I don’t think it shook anybody up—was the announced break-up of Al and Tipper Gore. The media had very little speculation as to why the Gore marriage has been one of the father-knowsbest examples of American matrimony that some people think don’t exist anymore.
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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A Then came the stories about the former Vice President and Laurie David, the politically active ex-wife of television writer, actor, an producer, Larry David. Then came some story from some masseuse somewhere along the way who claimed big Al had taken the opportunity while on the massage table, to “take advantage,” or try, rather. Actually, that is still in keeping with the image, don’t you think? Wouldn’t Al Gore be the perfect guy to make a pass on the massage table? Most people I know who indulge in such activity never do that. They just make their demands known (and usually are given a price list). Different ways of looking at it. We Americans love family scandals, particularly sex tales of the adulterous
cry. That’s the secret of the “Housewives” reality TV phenomenon. People love dirty laundry, especially that aired in public. Just as long as it’s not theirs. Or yours, right? Tipper and Al Gore were a perfect example of the “ideal” American family for the media delectation. Once upon a time they would have been called “square.” However, in real life, they didn’t have a real life. They’ve had national politics. They had the demands and stress of political life and all its ramifications. You can say it was their choice, but so are most privileged positions in our society. I don’t know the Gores. Like countless others, I’ve shaken their hands. They’re pleasant, gracious, friendly people, far more accessible upon meeting than many
major politicians (and celebrities) who have taken on that protective coating that polishes the ego and creates the distance. Tipper and Al were almost like your nextdoor neighbors (in a nice upscale community). I chanced to see Chelsea Clinton a few nights later, coming out of the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre at Lincoln Center, after the performance at the School of American Ballet. She was with her fiancé, and on crutches with one foot in some kind of cast. I thought of her mother and her father who have had similar experiences with a crutch in getting around. Like mother and father, like daughter. I couldn’t help also thinking about Chelsea Clinton, who grew up in the public laundering of her mother
and father’s marriage. All of us children whose mother and fathers had contentious, difficult, problematic personalities or disheveled marriages know about this. We know how painful it is to witness and experience, and for some of us how deeply embarrassing and even humiliating it can feel while it’s going on. I’m talking “in private,” not in headlines. So there was this young woman with the bright sunny face, on crutches. Looking otherwise just fine, no worse for the wear. Political mother and political father. And political daughter. A decade ago, her parents’ marriage was the hottest (and most frivolous) topic across the world (especially here). It’s still a hot one for some aging diehards. But to see it
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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A a d i n n e r at m o r t o n ’ s f o r p i a l i n d s t r Ö m a n d h e r s i s t e r s , i n g r i d a n d i s a b e l l a r o s s e l l i n i
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swept away with grand irony by Al and Tipper, just shows how what goes around goes around. Yes, I think we got that right. Today, only a generation later, a single woman, or a single man, can have a child and live a single life. No one gives it a thought, let alone a whisper. Or, a couple can live together and have a child and not marry— none of it matters. Today, “husband” can refer to a woman’s marital partner or a man’s marital partner. Same with the word “wife.” And children can have two mothers or two fathers, and everyone seems to be getting very used to the “new” definitions, because 36 QUEST
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everybody is included. There has always been divorce, although it was rare up until the last half century. Now, at times, it seems epidemic. It’s painful and hard. It’s easy to assume and assign blame because often there is a third or fourth in the equation. And real treachery. But it’s also just the final round of the mythic battle of the sexes. The smart ones surrender early on both sides, and are generous. Which, speaking of… Love in the afternoon. The most interesting news over the last weekend of last month, (at least the news that wouldn’t make you want to kill
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yourself), was about Liliane Bettencourt, the 87- (or 88-) year-old L’Oreal heiress who has been having an intense friendship/relationship with a much younger man—he’s 63 this year—the artist, playwright, and international social gadfly François-Marie Banier. Are they sleeping together? How would I know? Although I’m sure we could get a non, as well as a mais oui, if we asked around. But is that something we really need or even want to know? Chances are they’re not. But that’s only my definition of “chances.” Other people have other definitions.
However, whatever they are doing together, (and this is the “intense” part to a lot of spectators) the heiress, who personally owns 31% of L’Oreal’s stock, (her father started the company almost a century ago) has given Banier a variety of gifts and promises of gifts, including art, insurance policies, and a private island in the Seychelles, that tally up to more than $1.3 billion. Uh-huh. All this for a little tea and sympathy you might think. And this is all without any nuptial promises on monsieur’s part. Madame Bettencourt’s net worth is somewhere around $20 to $23 billion, almost as
D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A rich as Mayor Bloomberg on a slow day. And her annual income from the dividends on her L’Oreal stock is about $350 million per, or more than $30 million a month. That’s $670,000 a week. Who needs a lottery? Bettencourt has a daughter, an only child, about the same age as François-Marie Banier. She’s her arch nemesis. Coincidentally, her name is Françoise. And she thinks her mother should have her head examined giving all that money to this…man, and as a result, she is trying to get the French courts to order it back. Mother does not agree, and the two no longer speak. This all began at least four
years ago when Daughter dear was getting info from maman’s butler, who evidently taped all kinds of conversations that some people believe are proof that Banier is “taking advantage” of an old and mentally infirm woman. Maman thinks that’s ridiculous—of course she still has all her marbles as well as her billions. “It’s my money and I can do what I want with it,” she said. The couple have been friends since way back. He was also a friend of Madame’s late husband, Andre Bettencourt. The Bettencourts bought his art, appreciated his works, were friends, and among the charmed. Then M.
Bettencourt died. Madame, in her widowhood, became a greater friend of M. Banier. This is not so unusual for a person of advanced age who has lost loved ones and now faces an uncertain and perhaps solitary or isolated future. A woman like Liliane Bettencourt has the wherewithal to continue to living comfortably and with interest in the world outside an around her. These are the woman’s last chances, and no doubt she feels lucky to have the choices. Her lawyer, defending her, pointed out that she gives most of her money away and what difference does it make who gets it—a charity or an
individual—it is her money. Oh, and she’s also already turned over 90% of her stock in L’Oreal to her only child (maman still gets the income). To the outside world, it may look like Banier is the classic example of “just a gigolo” (“everywhere I go; people know the part I’m playing”). That would be a mistake. The multi-tasking connoisseur is quite famous in his world, the international world of the rich, the chic, and the shameless. It is a world that accommodates, even seeks out, a man of his creative means, especially when he possesses the talent to amuse. Think court jester. That is not to say that Banier ever acted as court
J . M c l a u g h l i n c e l e b r at e d “ a l l t h i n g s at o n c e ” b y m i k a b r z e z i n s k i at a p r i v at e r e s i d e n c e
Steven Siegler and Mika Brzezinski 38 QUEST
Catherine Moellering and Alina Cho
Tom and Heather Leeds
Pamela Gross and Jimmy Finkelstein
Barbara and Kevin McLaughlin
Joan and Jay McLaughlin
pat r i c k m c m u ll a n
Molly Froelich and Doug Larson
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Move In Perfect. East 56th. Stunning, meticulously renov 5.5 rm w/ spectacular built-ins thru-out. Spacious LR w/terrace & open city views, windowed kit w/eat-in counter. MBR w/ensuite bth, 2nd BR is currently a guest rm/study. FS bldg w/garage, gym, pool & roofdeck. Maint incl utilities & basic cable. $1.5M. Web #1177518. R.Delman 585-4533
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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A jester, but only to remind that he holds a prominent place in the courts of many princesses (and queens) of every ilk, and serves a similar purpose. When he was very young, he was a beauty and no doubt a desired man. The names that were attached to his in conversation were sometimes older, powerful men in Paris, like Yves Saint Laurent. There were older women also, like Madeleine Castaing (whose relatives accused Banier of influencing the late interior design guru to leave a house to him). Aside from any speculation about his motives, Banier obviously enjoys the company of people who are older and perhaps
most interesting. These are elements that move every artist and artistic person. Beauty can be enough in youth, but when it wears off as one matures, more is required in what Richard Nixon called “the great game of life.” Banier evidently had that “more,” because a beauty he no longer is, but for him it provided a curriculum vitae that is always a ticket to ride (on the yacht or private jet). Balzac would have noticed. Proust would have been enchanted (or at least jealous). Probably so would even Lina Astor on one her Paris sojourns. Theirs is a world of exchanges: money, art, sex, company, amusement, and
a good sleeping pill. We all know that. When a woman marries a rich man, the phrase commonly used (by even the most of common among us) is “she married well.” Deposed royals do it whenever they have the chance, and are applauded, even idealized for it. Just like the luckiest lapdancers at Scores. Get that that ice or else no dice. Lilianne Bettencourt’s choices. She’s an octogenarian. Ninety is either two years away, or maybe even never. She’s been rich all her life, with more than she can ever spend. Francois-Marie Banier is, to her at her age, a young man old enough to be sophisticated, who has lived a
fascinating life, one much more fascinating than hers. He also knows “everybody” in a world of “somebodies,” a world of luxury, convenience, aesthetic notions, aesthetic devices, and refined insensitivity. After you have it all, that in itself is a bore. Arrogance mates with false authority, and stupidity progresses. That is what is going on right now in Paris: a game almost as old as the oldest profession. Liliane Bettencourt said that jealousy could be the root of the conflict. “My daughter is more introverted then someone very sociable, like François-Marie Banier. That’s a little annoying for her,” she said, adding only a mother’s
T h e w i l d l i f e c o n s e r v at i o n s o c i e t y ’ s “ F l i g h t s o f Fa n c y ” g a l a at t h e c e n t r a l pa r k z o o
Sherrell and Muffie Potter Aston 40 QUEST
Scott Buccheit with Gillian Hearst and Christian Simonds
Stephanie Krieger
Tom Walker and Danielle Walker
Richard and Francesca Nye
Thomas Unterberg
Pat r i c k m c M u ll a n
Allison and Leonard Stern
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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A c o c k ta i l s fo r j u st i n t u c k ’ s c e l e b r i t y b i l l i a r d s at t h e d av i d yu r m a n to w n h o u s e
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punctuation: “But in the past she was always a cold child.” Spoken like a true mother. What Françoise BettencourtMeyers does have is money. Though it would seem her arch-nemesis, Banier, has everything else. And he’s not poor, by any stretch, thanks to maman. To Françoise’s mother, he’s a Renaissance man, a literary figure, everything. To her, he’s…well…you fill in the blank. Liliane Bettencourt, in an interview with Le Figaro, put it: “Fortune is an opportunity. When one has received a lot, one must love giving—simply, without ulterior motives, 42 QUEST
Anait Bian and Jonathan LeWinter
Shauna Brook and Justin Tuck
without calculation, without waiting for a ‘return on investment.’ And thus to give back, freely to society a part of what one has received.” Auntie Mame put it more succinctly for dear old Liliane: “Life’s a banquette and most poor suckers are starving.” In other words, live while you can. Banier seems to be doing just that. Riches always add zest, at least at the outset. He could do worse. Years ago he was accused of being the boy toy of artist Salvador Dali. He sued a newspaper over the inference and won, but the message served its purpose for his detractors.
Yvette Hollingsworth and Marc Abrams
Lauran Tuck with Steven and Dee Boyd
Françoise Bettencourt claims she is acting “in the interests of her mother” who has been “absolutely encircled” by “Banier and his friends.” She has pledged that if she wins her case, she will give the £993 million she claims her mother has handed Banier in various forms, to charity. Just to show it’s not about “the money” for her. Of course, that would presume Banier would “return” the same. It’s a dream comes true for the tabloids and a trifecta for the lawyers who no doubt will get more than Banier might have ever dreamed
of receiving, before this is over. Mothers and daughters duking it out over a younger guy of uncertain intentions. Banier’s lawyer may have put his finger on the matter in a statement: “There is on the one hand a family wound (between mother and daughter)—without doubt deep and longstanding— and on the other hand, a marvelous story of friendship and literary and artistic partnership over the last twenty years. It’s not through legal proceedings that François BettencourtMeyers will resolve her family problems.” u
Pat r i c k M c M u ll a n
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Sophisticated Country Colonial - Wonderful compound on four estate acres on the Bedford Riding Lanes. Ride out onto 130 miles of trails. Stunning Shingle Colonial, circa 1908. Nice ceiling height, substantial millwork, wide moldings, wide board floors and French doors. Rocking Chair Porch. Center Entrance Hall. Four Bedrooms. Charming Two-Bedroom Cottage.Three Stall Barn. Separate Garage with Studio. Sunset views from the meadow. $3,800,000
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Distinctive Shingle - In the heart of Bedford. Pillared front porch.Two Story Entrance Hall. Sun-filled Living Room with Fireplace and coffered ceiling. Formal Dining Room. Country Kitchen with Breakfast Room. Family Room with Fireplace. Four Bedrooms. Media Room. Wine Cellar. Bonus Room. Over four private acres with wonderful playing field, rushing stream, old stonewalls and rolling lawns. Perfect privacy yet just moments from Bedford Village. $1,975,000
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Absolutely stunning Shingle Colonial on over three parklike acres in Yale Farms. Over 5700 square feet of meticulously finished living space. Substantial millwork, French doors, raised paneling, crown moldings, and hardwood floors.True Center Entrance Hall. Finely detailed Living Room with Fireplace and French doors to covered porch. Fabulous Family Room with stone Fireplace and vaulted ceiling with exposed beams. Five Bedrooms. $2,995,000
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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A Quest hosted a preview of montblanc’s new timepiece collection at t h e i r w e st c h e st e r b o u t i q u e
Richard Cooke and Thomas Chubet
Anisha Lakhani considers an item at Montblanc
Mike Giannattasio, Belinda Mayo and Charles Calvert
Wendy Cooke 44 QUEST
Sebastian Bland and William Newman
Melissa Heinberg and Stacey Oestreich
Atissa Tadjadod and Deborah Royce
Shelly Lynch
Rebecca Regan and Gigi Stone
Elizabeth Brown, Oliver Ames and Rebecca Brown
Sabrina Forsythe and Marvin Davidson
George and Kathie Moore
e l i z a b e t h b ro w n
Lisa Rosenberg and Sharon Eder
Save the Date SEVENTH ANNUAL
Wednesday September 29, 2010 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. 73rd Street (Between Lexington and Third Avenues) Proceeds will support the NYC Family Justice Center Initiative and youth programs in public housing. To purchase tickets, please visit www.nyc.gov/fund or call 212-788-7794.
D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A d o u b l e s C e l e b r at e D i ts t h i r t y - fo u r t h A n n i v e r s a r y
Mark Gilbertson and Blair Husain
Mary Van Pelt and Brian Colwell
Richard Mishaan and Geoffrey Bradfield 46 QUEST
Wendy Carduner, Patrick and Dana Stubgen
Jay Aston, Elizabeth Meigher, Alexis Theodoracopulos, Georgina Schaeffer and Thorne Perkin
Nancy and Joe Missett
Peter Duchin and his band
Mary Snow
Georgette Farkas, Clay Floren and Sue Chalom
Alexander and Jeanette Sanger, Liz and Jeff Peek
Audra and Jason Duchin
C u t t y M cG i ll
Lee Calicchio, Stanley Schulman, Marjorie Wilpon, Mario Buatta and Charlene Nederlander
ROBERTA.McCAFFREYREALTY Garrison • Cold Spring, NY • 60 Mins NYC
Westchester,Putnam,DutchessMLS
143MainStreet,ColdSpring,NY10516 Tel:845.265.4113•www.mccaffreyrealty.com info@mccaffreyrealty.com
PUTNAM VALLEY, NY - Exquisite Arts and Crafts home on 20 private acres. Restored 1932 residence offers great room with cathedral ceilings and stone fireplace, gourmet eat-in-kitchen, 4 bedrooms and 2 full and 2 half baths. The property includes a separate stone building with finished great room, stone patios, rambling creek with waterfall and pond, stone walls and a sauna. Offered at $1,995,000
GARRISON, NY - This elegant Garrison home on a quiet country road enjoys lovely views. All on one level, the home offers an open living area, fireplace in dining room, gourmet eat-in kitchen with stainless appliances, 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. The separate one-bedroom guest cottage adds another 600 square feet. A pool provides the perfect spot to while away lazy summer afternoons. Offered at $1,950,000
GARRISON, NY - Unique home on 12+ completely private acres with spectacular valley views. Geodesic dome LR with mezzanine, charming circular DR, open kitchen with separate prep-serving pantry. Large master suite, guest room with loft and huge studio/office/guest suite with bath & kitchenette. In-ground pool & spa, lush landscaping. Convenient location, Garrison school. Offered at $1,295,000
GARRISON, NY - Elegant Hudson Valley retreat on serene 3.5 acres combines tradition with modern construction and conveniences. Expansive great room with beamed ceiling and stone fireplace, open country kitchen, garden room, library, 3 bedrooms, including luxurious and private master suite. Beautifully landscaped with in-ground pool and patio. Offered at $999,000
GARRISON, NY - Charming carriage house, on a magnificent piece of property, boasts an open floor plan on the first level with a state-of-the-art kitchen and half bath. 2 bedrooms and a beautiful bath with separate tub and shower complete the second floor. All are beautifully appointed and lovingly maintained. Professionally designed landscaping, stone walls, sprinkler system, bluestone paths. Offered at $695,000
BEACON, Dutchess County, NY - Pristine colonial rests on 2 landscaped acres in an enclave of similar homes near the Hudson River. A grand two-story entrance introduces the formal living and dining rooms, den, half bath, kitchen with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances and a great room warmed by a fireplace. Upstairs is an elegant master suite with luxurious bath, three additional bedrooms and hall bath. Offered at $539,000
Member of Westchester/Putnam, MLS • Mid-Hudson MLS (Dutchess County) Greater Hudson Valley MLS • (Orange, Rockland, Ulster, Sullivan Counties) For more information on these and other listings, many with full brochures and floor plans, visit our website: www.mccaffreyrealty.com
D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A T h e yo u n g pat r o n s c i r c l e o f t h e a m e r i c a n f r i e n d s o f t h e l o u v r e h o st e d “ S o i r e e au L o u v r e ” at t h e Pay n e w h i t n e y m a n s i o n
Elizabeth Grimaldi Kurpis and Anne Huntington
Jennifer Collins, David Chines and Alixe Laughlin
Callie Baker and Asia Baker
Caroline Rowley and Melissa Butler
Annabel Vartanian and Anna Vietor
John de Neufville and William Heath
Monica Pedersen and Katie Brockman
Elena Kornbuth and Louis Renzo 48 QUEST
Marcia Schaeffer and Michael Miele
Jonathan Preece and Dara Caponigro
Sims Bray
William Rosenberg and Marcia Sherrill
Alix Lerman and Leah Blank
pat r i c k m c m u ll a n ( lo u v r e ) / F r a n c i s S m i t h f o r s c a l a m a n d r e ( g i n o ’ s )
a f i n a l fa r e w e l l to g i n o ’ s r e stau r a n t
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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A q u e s t , t h e b r o m p t o n , a n d w a l ly f i n d l a y s a l u t e d a r c h i t ec t r o b e r t a . m . st e r n a n d a r t i sts p r i s c i l l a h e i n e a n d g u stavo n o vo a
Alixe Laughlin with Matthew and Nicole Mellon
Peter Dixon, Alicia Goldstein and Michael Jones
Melissa Berkelhammer and Chris Leach 50 QUEST
Bryan Cho and Susan Defranca
Nick Stern and Bob Stern
Abigail Manship and Catherine Mosse
Tony Hoyt, Pamela Howard and Wynn Laffey
James Borynack, Stephanie Clark and Adolfo Zaralegui
Natasha Allsop and Charles Darling
Daniel Cappello and Deborah Berger
O l i v e r a m e s / e l i z a b e t h b ro w n
Sabrina Kleier, Michele Kleier and Jennifer Gluckow
the Quest 400 Issue
coming in august Call Kathy Sheridan at 646.840.3404 x100
CALENDAR
J u ly
amFAR ambassador Cheyenne Jackson will represent the foundation on the eight-day Cruise for a Cure, departing from Copenhagen, Denmark, on August 4. For more information, call 212.806.1600.
House party
The Halsey House will host its annual event to benefit the restoration of the Thomas Halsey Homestead in the museum’s breathtaking garden at 6 p.m. For more information, call 631.283.2494.
4
All-american picnic
The Southampton Fresh Air Home will host the twenty-third annual American Picnic featuring a picnic buffet, Grucci Fireworks, and all things American at 1030 Meadow Lane in Southampton. For more information, call 631.283.5847. 52 QUEST
The Greenwich Polo Club will host matches on the 4th and the 11th at Conyers Farm in Greenwich. For more information, call 203.561.5821.
featuring sixteen ballets (including including three performances of Balanchine’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream), from July 6 to the 17th, in Saratoga Springs. For more information, call 518.587.3330.
5
8
Indian Summer
midsummer nights
The National Park Foundation will host its benefit dinner at Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers. For more information, call 914.834.2868.
The Newport Hospital will host its 2010 summer gala, “A Passage to India,” at 6:30 p.m. at the Marble House. All proceeds will benefit the hospital’s Interventional Radiology program. For more information, call 401.845.1619.
The Parrish Art Museum will host its Midsummer Party, co-chaired by Beth Rudin DeWoody and Ross Bleckner, at 7 p.m in the museum’s historic arboretum. For more information, call 631.283.2118.
10
Ballet Gala
Polo at the farm
Pier party
6
Tiny Dancers
The Saratoga Performing Arts Center will host the 2010 summer season of the New York City Ballet,
old school
The International Yacht
Restoration School in Newport will host its thirteenth annual summer gala at its waterfront campus at 6 p.m. The gala’s theme will be “Old School, New School, Our School.” For more information, call 401.848.5777.
The Saratoga Performing Arts Center will host the New York City Ballet Gala, chaired by Candace
r i c h a r d fa r r i n g to n p h oto g r a p h y
3
CALENDAR
Bushnell and Charles Askegard at 5:30 p.m. The event will include a champagne reception, a gourmet dinner, and fireworks. For more information, call 518.587.3330.
11
antique Chic
The Southampton Antiques Fair will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the White House in Southampton. For more information, call 631.283.2494.
12
golf Clap
The East Coast Golf Classic will be held at the Quaker Ridge Golf Club in Scarsdale at 12:30 p.m. All proceeds will benefit the Lymphoma Research Foundation. For more information, call 646.465.9103.
13
Central park cocktail
The Citizens Committee for New York City will host its Summer
Cocktail at the Loeb Boathouse in Central Park, beginning at 6 p.m., featuring live jazz, gondola rides, and a buffet spread. For more information, call 212.822.9595.
14
Preppy Party
Prep for Prep will hold its annual Lilac Ball, honoring trustee Daniel M. Neidich, at the Waldorf=Astoria at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call 212.675.9474.
15
FULL BLOOM
The Frick Collection will host its annual Garden Party in its remarkable Fifth Avenue garden at 6:30 p.m. For more information, call 212.547.0706.
On July 24, The Watermill Center will host “Paradiso,” Robert Wilson’s seventeenth annual Benefit Gala. For more information, call 212.253.7484.
17
Fireworks Show will be held in 3 Mile Harbor in East Hampton and will feature fireworks by Grucci. For more information, call 631.324.6250.
The spectacular Great Bonac
24
Sparkle and Bang
high note
York, at 1 p.m. For more information, call 212.759.2800, ext.12.
AUGUST 3
twilight polo
The Perlman Music Program will host its annual Summer Benefit at Annette and Ian Cumming’s waterfront estate in East Hampton, beginning at 6 p.m. For more information, call 212.877.3230.
The Joseph and Anne Palamountain Scholarship Fund will host its thirtyfirst annual Benefit Polo by Twilight 2010 at the Saratoga Polo Fields at 5:30 p.m. For more information, call 518.580.5671.
paradise
cruising copenhagen
4
The Watermill Center will host “Paradiso,” Robert Wilson’s seventeenth annual Benefit Gala. For more information, call 212.253.7484.
amFAR ambassador Cheyenne Jackson will represent the foundation on the eight-day Cruise for a Cure, departing from Copenhagen, Denmark, on the 4th. For more information, call 212.806.1600.
bubbly
7
The James Beard Foundation will honor Martha Stewart at Chefs & Champagne at the Wolffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack at 4:30 p.m. For more information, call 212.627.2308.
31
marble gala
The Hope Fund for Cancer Research will host its annual gala in the legendary Newport mansion, Marble House, at 7 p.m. in Newport. For more information, call 401.847.3286.
bumble bee
On August 7, the Hope Fund for Cancer Research will host its annual gala in the legendary Newport mansion Marble House, at 7 p.m. For more information, call 401.847.3286.
Planned Parenthood will host the Hudson Peconic East End Benefit at the home of Michael and Andrea Gordon, founder of Bumble and Bumble, in Bridgehampton at 5:30 p.m. For more information, call 631.240.1134.
summer Fête
super saturday
Park Part y
The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund will host its thirteenth annual Super Saturday at Nova’s Ark Project in Water Mill, New
The National Park Foundation holds its annual benefit dinner at Pier 60 at Chelsea Piers. For more information, call 914.834.2868.
The Southampton Hospital will host fifty-second annual Summer Party, “An Enchanting Evening,” under the tents at the corner of Wickapogue and Old Town Roads in Southampton. For more information, call 631.283.440.
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IT SEEMS LIKE YESTERDAY
Ned Rorem, a composer of more than five hundred songs, countless operas, symphonies, piano concertos, ballets, and theater music, as well as the author of several autobiographical books. And, even though he has won the Pulitzer Prize, Musical America’s “Composer of
H A R RY B E N S O N
the Year” award, ASCAP’s “Lifetime Achievement” award, and more, his name rings only a vague bell. Ned’s life would make a fascinating film. He was born in Indiana in 1923 to Quaker parents. He was a childhood prodigy and eventually spent ten years in France under
the patronage of Vicomtesse de Noallies, in a scenario vaguely reminiscent of Sunset Boulevard. He wrote a few tell-all books, including The Paris Diary, The New York Diary, and the recent Facing the Night. I photographed Ned in August 1978 at his Nantucket home, where he spent the
summers with his lifelong companion, Jim Holmes, who Ned said saved his life by helping him stop drinking. When I arrived, Ned, friendly and easygoing, asked if I wanted coffee. But I just wanted to get to work as I always like to get some pictures in the bag before I relax. When you’ve got a subject, and he is willing, don’t waste any time. Take the photos and then get out of dodge before the moment disappears. Things can change quickly—the subject could get called away on business, the phone could ring. Physically fit, Ned rode his bike to and from the village each day. He was happy to pose and even stood on his head without any bother. He wasn’t showing off, just having fun. He was completely at ease in his own skin. Ned told me he liked this photograph when it appeared, and that pleased me. We have lost contact over the years, but I read in 2008 that he celebrated his eighty-fifth birthday and was awarded a “Letter of Distinction” by the American Music Center. His accolades just keep coming. Two words come to mind when I think of Ned: integrity and loyalty. Those are very important words that I save for a very few. u Ned Rorem at his Nantucket home in August 1978. J U LY 2 0 1 0 5 5
Ta k i
vice & virtue As some of you may have heard, my birthplace, Greece, has been in the news lately. Greece, or Hellas, her proper name, may not be the oldest country in the world, but she’s certainly the oldest civilization, if one doesn’t count jumping from tree to tree, building pyramids, or smoking opium to be civilized traits. Old Hellas had a lot going for her. Within seven centuries, my race invented for itself
epic elegy, lyric tragedy, comedy, opera, pastoral, epigram, novel, democratic government, political and economic science, history, geography, philosophy, physics, and biology. It also made revolutionary advances in architecture, sculpture, painting, music, oratory, mathematics, astrology, medicine, anatomy, engineering, law, and war—a stupendous feat for a race, whose most brilliant state was Attica,
Taki’s birthplace, with a free population of perhaps 160,000 in all. Not bad, but what I liked the most about my direct ancestors was their loathing of barbarians. Barbarians were nonGreeks, in other words, uncivilized, foulsmelling brutes. The ancient Hellenes admired virtue and relished vice. That is the way it should be. One admires the virtuous girl but loves the hooker. They
Greece, this columnist’s birthplace, has been making headlines lately—and not as an idyllic summer retreat.
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Ta k i advised moderation and practiced excess. They demanded loyalty, but ambition often trumped it. They invented democracy—for the few and educated—but also invented tyranny. If their most powerful deities were goddesses, they treated women as objects. They claimed freedom for themselves, but their best minds rarely questioned slavery. My favorite Athenian was the patrician Alcibiades, who when dumped by the Athenians after his disastrous expedition against Sicily, went over to the Spartans, and after trying to seduce the queen of Sparta, sailed across the Aegean and joined the Persians. The Athenians tracked him down, and when his wife tried to cover him as the killers closed in, the word went around that he was dressed like a woman. The Greeks had a long reputation for turning against those whom they had once venerated and blessed with fame. Our greatest admiral, Themistocles, ended his days as a civil servant for the despised Persians, the Greeks having turned against him after the victory that, along with the battle of Marathon, saved the west from the barbarians. Miltiades, the general who won Marathon, was also exiled and his son, Kimon, the greatest and noblest Athenian, also lost favor. Few good deeds went unpunished in a society riven by envy, toadyism, mal ice, and slander. Aristophanes, the world’s first and greatest comic playwright, mocked and vilifies the democracy that gave him the freedom to do so. Greece invented competition, and made a fetish of it. Art, politics, sport—all were dog-eatdog arenas. Greeks loved money, but they disdained work. Plutarch described the great Socrates walking beside his student Alcibiades, who is on
From top: Greeks admire virtue and relish vice; Socrates; the ancient Hellenes’ great deities were goddesses, but they treated women as objects.
horseback. Their mode of transport is different because Socrates is a plebeian, whereas his student is a patrician. It is the way it should be, although some Harvard professor might take exception. So, all those good times came to an end, first when the Romans replaced the Greeks as the numero uno power, then when the Ottomans conquered Byzantium on Black Tuesday 1453. Which brings us to the present. Four hundred years of Turkish occupation turned the Hellenes into a bastard race, with many eastern traits replacing the noble characteristics of the past. Still, old habits die hard. Modern Greeks are still envious, slanderous, hateful at times, and blame others for their self-induced disasters. Greece is now the sick man of Europe. The politicians have been stealing for years, the civil servants have been doing nothing to earn their outrageous salaries, and the ones who work have not paid taxes since time immemorial. The state has failed the people, and the people in return have chosen to go to the beach and not pay taxes. Yet the country—the islands rather—remain beautiful and pleasant. If one avoids fleshpots like Mykonos, Ios, Rhodes, or Athens, but sticks to the Ionian and places like Paros and Skopelos, one can still find the wine-like sea of Homer, and breathe the pine-scented earth Odysseus yearned for in his tenyear quest to return to Ithaca. Ithaca, incidentally, is unspoiled, as is Cephalonia, but those two isles are among the seven that never came under Turkish rule. My family’s home is in Zante, an island fortunate to have been ruled by Venice, and later by the Brits and the French. And, by the time you read this, I’ll be on my boat sailing around the Ionian, after a brief stay in Mykonos for some badly needed excess. Hope to see you over there, but if we miss each other, there’s always the Hamptons in September. Pleasant sailing, everyone. u J U LY 2 0 1 0 5 7
Quest
Fresh Finds b y d a n i e l c a p p e l l o AND e l i z a b e t h m e i g h e r
NOthing says summer like July—or a pair of friendly seahorse drop earrings from Chopard. As the mercury rises, keep your hemlines short and cool but your fashion ever hot with stylish dresses from Prada and Lilly Pulitzer. Michael Kors knows that even the suited man needs to stay (and look) cool, and summer always offers a new interpretation from Ralph Lauren of the classic polo that launched a brand. Whether shopping for the beach or your home, for the hostess who has everything, or the pet who deserves a little indulging, Quest has you covered.
Très chic: TRE’s colorful “Anita” glass rings—here in lime green, lilicism, and pink martini—are fun in size and smart in price. $85. TRE Jewelry: Available at nordstrom.com and kirnazabete.com.
From the 150th Anniversary Animal World Collection come these Seahorse earrings in white gold set with diamonds and onyx cabochons. Chopard: 800.CHOPARD or chopard.com.
Stylishly short: black and white printed satin dress with open back ($2,160) and transparent pumps with plexiglass heel ($790). Prada: Select Prada boutiques or prada.com. 58 QUEST
Every girl deserves a boost with the ultimate shoe for summer— the wedge—and Delman’s “Crisa” cork wedge in metallic fits the bill perfectly. $275 Delman: delmanshoes.com.
From the Lobster & Buoy to the Summer Citrus styles, Up Country’s dog collars are a whale of a design. $20. Up Country: 800.541.5909 or upcountryinc.com/canine.cfm.
Make packing for the beach easy-breezy with these Angela Adams and Sea Bags for J. Crew in Dipped, Diagonal Stripe, and Pocket Sail. $198. J. Crew: jcrew.com.
Shine like a star in Lilly Pulitzer’s solid Blossom dress in star fruit yellow. $248. Lilly Pulitzer: 1020 Madison Avenue, 212.744.4620, or lillypulitzer.com.
Turn it up with this malachite switch plate in gold plate. $784. Sherle Wagner: 300 East 62nd Street, 212.758.3300, or sherlewagner.com.
The Three Wise Monkeys include the “Hear No Evil, See No Evil” coral cufflinks Kicking back never felt so good as on Nancy Corzine’s Australian Lounge in pearl chinee fabric. $7,195. Nancy Corzine: 979 Third Avenue, 212.238.8340, or nancycorzine.com.
and the “Speak No Evil” lapel pin, all with 18-kt. gold. Price upon request. Sorab & Roshi: 914.763.2140. J U LY 2 0 1 0 5 9
Fresh Finds Add the custom touch to your next party with Cocktail Complements. J. McLaughlin: Embroidered to your specifications by calling 718.532.9053 or by visiting jmclaughlin.com.
Feel like part of the Black Watch polo team, sponsored by Ralph Lauren, with this black and white Custom Fit mesh polo. $55. Ralph Lauren: 888.475.7674 or ralphlauren.com.
It’s easy to transition from the golf course to the clubhouse by slipping a blue blazer over the classic The Robert shirt in tomato and twilight. $95. Robert Redd: robertredd.com.
Cool in blue: Michael Kors’s sea-stretch cotton blazer ($895)
Book two sixty-minute treatments for yourself
and slim trouser
and receive 10% off (offer is not valid on
($225) with white
waxing and manicure/pedicure). The Spa at The
linen pullover
Surrey: 20 East 76th Street or 646.358.3615.
($225). Michael Kors: 866.709.KORS for locations and customer service.
Montblanc’s Nicolas Rieussec Chronograph Automatic, in stainless steel and brown alligator with off-center hour-minute hands, was the prize for this year’s Belmont Stakes winner. Now you can own one, too. $9,200. Montblanc: 598 Madison Avenue or montblanc.com.
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For summer, slip on this David Yurman Albion ring in sterling silver with 18-kt. rose gold morganite and pavĂŠ diamonds. $1,850. David Yurman: 712 Madison Avenue or 212.752.4255.
Claude Monet would approve of these Lilypad diamond earrings in 18-kt. white gold. $16,000. Asprey: 853 Madison Avenue, 212.688.1811, or asprey.com.
Walk on air in French Sole’s scooped ballerina Wedgewood shoe, here in soft metallic combo. $150. French Sole: 985 Lexington Avenue or 212.737.2859.
Make an entrance in this diamond-dusted chrome python with metallic Yuma gown. $14,000. Dennis Basso: 765 Madison Avenue or dennisbasso.com.
Straight from Basel: the 31-mm. Everose Gold Oyster Perpetual Datejust with 24 diamonds, 31 jewel chronometer movement, and a steel-and-Everose gold bracelet. $11,650. Rolex: 800.36.ROLEX. J U LY 2 0 1 0 6 1
canteens
newport nibbles By DANIEL CAPPELLO
The exterior of the Clarke Cooke House. Opposite: The
doesn’t get old. Maybe it’s her spliced fin that curls back up to her perfectly pear-shaped hips, or the way she invites you in to her chest with open arms, only to cover up her breasts with that long-flowing hair? In any case, a mermaid—the longtime fantasy of seafarers everywhere—greets you at the Bistro of one of Newport’s nearly mythical institutions, the Clarke Cooke House. Add to this alluring ocean figure some white walls, wood-beam ceilings, countless prints of the America’s Cup, sailing memorabilia, and seaglass-green sconces, and 6 2 Q U EST
nothing conjures the wharf-side aesthetic quite like it. This is the atmosphere of the Clarke Cooke House, the gastronomic go-to spot on Bannister’s Wharf, in Newport. Located in an original circa-1780 structure, the “house” is more of a multilayered array of bars and restaurants for any dining experience. In the eighteenth-century building, you can soak up the romantic elegance of the Porch, which is housed high above the assembled yachts, or relax more casually in the café-like Candy Store, at harbor level. Newporters in the know like to sip cocktails at the intimate
o p p o s i te : M i c h a e l O s e a n
there’s something about a giant mermaid that just
T h i s pa g e : O n n e va n d e r Wa l /
interior of the Sky Bar/Porch.
SkyBar, adjacent to the Porch. In summer, the Midway Bar offers open views of lingering sunsets. It’s also the season when the Bistro opens its wall of windows to allow the sights and sounds of Bannister’s Wharf to fill the room. The stately Club Room, a favored spot for private dinner parties, is decked in darker panels, which makes it appropriate for any season. Not to be missed is the Boom Boom Room, famous for bawdy dancing and good-spirited revelry, which is tucked underground, beneath the Candy Store.
been on the menu for over twenty years, and with good reason (rumor has it there’s a stick of butter in every serving). Next up, catch the native striped bass. Here, a seven-ounce filet is wrapped in a thin shell of potato disks (layered to resemble fish scales), brushed with egg whites and thyme, then roasted in the oven. It’s served on a bed of braised leeks with a thyme-scented cabernet glaze, and finished with baby turnip, carrots, and haricots verts. No meal is complete without the Snowball in Hell, an
No matter which level you dine at (tourists tend to get trapped in the Candy Store, while natives and regulars flock to the Porch), you’re bound to discover that the Cooke House is serious about food. Chef Ted Gidley uses the freshest seafood (’natch), flavorful beef, and regional produce to create imaginative dishes. Gidley trained in fine French kitchens, and it shows, but his cooking remains true to the spirit of Newport’s seaside heritage along the New England coast. This season, if you snag a spot on the Porch, you’d be remiss not to start with the ravioli of lobster and wild mushroom. It’s
all-time house favorite. It can be spotted at every table for every celebration, grand or small. The dessert is really a wine goblet coated with Callebaut chocolate, lined with slices of a chocolate roulade, stuffed with vanilla ice cream, and topped with chocolate sauce and toasted coconut. A rum-soaked sugar cube is nestled in the ice cream and lit on fire just before being served tableside. One just never seems enough; the staff has been trained over the years to expect encore presentations. Miss out on a trip to Newport for a dinner at the Cooke House? Not a snowball’s chance in hell. u J U LY 2 0 1 0 6 3
b aNnakming e
leading the way “EXPERIENCE, STRINGENT discipline, and vast resources are some of the reasons why discerning institutional and individual investors turn to professional money management companies,” begins Reuven Spiegel, president and CEO of Israel Discount Bank of New York, also known as IDB Bank®, a New York State-chartered commercial bank and member of the FDIC. “IDB Bank continues to thrive because of our wellknown reputation of delivering individualized attention to our customers.” A force within its industry, IDB Bank has been ranked the fourteenth largest commercial bank in the area by Crain’s New York Business in 2009, with total assets in excess of $9 million
and total equity in excess of $700 million. The bank also boasts an impressive investment portfolio—eighty percent is “AAA” rated—and has been awarded an “Outstanding” CRA rating. Despite the economic climate, IDB Bank has continued to grow remarkably, responding to global challenges in an enviable fashion. IDB Bank, through its predecessor institution, began operations in New York City in 1949. Today, it continues to strengthen its domestic presence with a U.S. Private Banking Division, now in its second year of operation. “We have created a desirable banking, wealth management, and trust advisory service to meet the deposit, credit, and invest-
Opposite page, above: IDB Bank on Fifth Avenue has a rich history in the United States. Today, their private banking officers continue that legacy. Below: Reuven Spiegel, president and CEO of IDB Bank. This page, clockwise from top left: the bank in 1949, a new ATM machine for convenient private banking; Eleanor Roosevelt at the bank’s ribbon cutting ceremony; James LoGatto, executive vice president
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of U.S. Private Banking; Members of the U.S. Private Banking Team.
ment needs of our clients.” says James LoGatto, executive vice president of U.S. Private Banking. Joining the previously established International Private Banking Division and U.S. Lending Division, the U.S. Private Banking Division fulfills a strategic goal to transform IDB Bank from an international deposit-oriented institution with a domestic middle-market portfolio into a full-service domestic private bank while retaining a strong international deposit base. Within the U.S. Private Banking Division, IDB Bank has recently expanded its Investment Management and Trust department, aiming to offer exceptional client service and integrat-
ed solutions. “Our experienced professionals on the investment management and trust team serve our clients at the highest levels with advice they can trust,” says Spiegel. As IDB Bank intensifies the focus on its U.S. Private Banking Division, Spiegel will rely on LoGatto to ensure the endeavor’s success. In the near future, IDB Bank will increase the number of private banking teams in New York City, enhance technology to streamline operations and services, and renew its emphasis on creating new product and service solutions specifically tailored to the different needs of the next generation of IDB Bank clients. u
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F A S HION
say “I Do” with j. crew The leader in high-quality classics has expanded its reach, with stunning wedding gowns, bridesmaid dresses, and formalwear now available at the new J. Crew Bridal Boutique.
B y E l i z a be t h b r o w n
within a month of its opening on the Upper East Side, the J. Crew Bridal Boutique has established itself as an invaluable resource for every woman. From cocktail parties and blacktie events to weddings, the store is a one-stop shop for the chic Manhattanite. The boutique offers one-on-one appointments, overnight delivery and other courier services, special recommendations for wedding planning, and partnernships with accessory brands like Leah C. Couture, Lulu Frost, and Wolford. And, of course, there’s the ever-expanding collection of wedding gowns, bridesmaid dresses, and formal-wear designed by Tom Mora, head of wedding design. The store, inspired by a turn-of-the century Parisian shop named Galerie Jean Desert, pays homage to classic French salon architecture, furnishing, and scale. Outfitted in inviting, worn furniture and faded Oriental rugs, the space is reminiscent of a lived-in pre-war apartment. Elegant details further encourage the ambiance: a vase of pink rose buds, tattered books filled with love stories, a vintage cake topper. “Everything gets better with age and wear,” says Mora. “Not everything needs to be so precious.” When a bride-to-be crosses the threshold at 769 Madison Avenue, she steps onto a slate compass rose, inlaid into the exposed wood flooring. She’s arrived. She needn’t venture any further. J. Crew promises to whisk her through her wedding seamlessly—outfitting her from the rehearsal dinner through the honeymoon. “Whether you decide to buy
a $300 or a $3,000 dress, you’ll have the same experience,” Mora says. Before her appointment, she might run her fingers over stacks of colorful Italian cashmere, consider drawers of Cosabella lingerie, sample a fragrance from Histoires de Parfums, or slip on a party dress from the 769 collection (a line of formalwear exclusive to the location). Downstairs, bridal parties are welcomed with glasses of champagne or sparkling water before being ushered into a private suite with two accompanying dressing rooms. The showroom’s walls are lined with confections made of satin and silk. “These dresses accent the wearer,” Mora says. “It’s really about a pretty dress on a beautiful woman. We take simple fabrics and do beautiful things with them.” He displays one of his favorites, admiring the crinkle chiffon and bejeweled belt covered in tulle. The response to J. Crew’s newest endeavor has been overwhelmingly positive: “It’s beyond our wildest dreams. Appointments are booked solid through November.” Before making your way down the aisle, be sure to stroll up Madison Avenue! u Opposite, clockwise from top: The J. Crew Bridal Boutique, at 769 Madison Avenue; J. Crew has partnered with a variety of luxury brands for its new endeavor; vintage pieces decorate the store; downstairs, bridal parties attend private appointments.
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ph i lant h r opy
perfecting the perimeter
Above: the perimeter of the park before its restoration. Opposite: the same perimeter after restoration, made possible by the Perimeter Association, part of the Central Park Conservancy’s Women’s Association. For more information, call 212.310.6615 or see centralparknyc.org.
At 843 acres, Central Park is Manhattan’s
ultimate green escape for New Yorkers and tourists alike, and a respite from city life, just as designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux intended. But Central Park did not spring to life organically. A manmade landscape from top to bottom, the park requires constant maintenance and care. Luckily, it has never looked more beautiful or been better managed in all of its 152-year history—and that’s thanks to the Central Park Conservancy. The most-seen part of the park is likely the perimeter—the six miles lining its outer limits. Yet many visitors may not realize how much care goes into main6 8 Q U EST
taining its welcoming presence. “The perimeter was not a pretty place in the early 1980s,” says Douglas Blonsky, president of the Conservancy and Central Park Administrator. “The Conservancy was accomplishing great feats of restoration inside the park, but the perimeter was covered in litter, which prevented people from wanting to venture in.” It took the dedication of the Conservancy’s Women’s Committee, which formed the Perimeter Association in the 1980s, to right the situation. “Inside the park, they were making great strides and getting money allocated to certain projects,” says Toni Peebler, co-founder of the Perimeter Association. “The park
was stunning, but the outside was filthy.” The women set out to get the backing of the real-estate community. They spoke to managers of surrounding buildings to raise the needed funds to improve the condition outside of the park. The support of neighboring buildings is critical to the Conservancy’s ongoing maintenance of the perimeter. Today, the Perimeter Association—cochaired by Elaine Murray, Susan Rudin, and Elizabeth Stribling—provides funding for the improvement and maintenance of the area between the park’s wall and the street curb. Funds raised by the Perimeter Association help provide for the work of Conservancy staffers who maintain the perimeter on a daily basis. Buildings see great benefit from involvement, too. “We appreciate the enormous value Central Park has to our life in the city,” says Dan Kaplan, board president of the Hampshire House at 150 Central Park South, an early supporter of the Perimeter Association. In the next year, the Association plans to expand its reach even further, and develop relationships with buildings one block in each direction. “To see what Toni and her colleagues accomplished early in the Conservancy’s tenure in the park is amazing,” says Women’s Committee president Gillian Miniter. “But we can’t falter in our commitment to that same vision: a beautiful green space, inside and out, for all New Yorkers. The Perimeter Association has been a tremendous asset to the Conservancy and to the city.” u
c e n t r a l pa r k co n s e rva n c y
The Central Park Conservancy’s Perimeter Association is making strides to improve and maintain the critical space between the park’s wall and the street curb.
easy summer Living Henry James once wrote to Edith Wharton: “Summer afternoon. Summer afternoon...the two most beautiful words in the English language.” From family fishing trips in the Adirondacks, to sipping Southsides in Southampton, to black-tie parties in Newport, Quest wishes you a happy summer!
The Adirondacks Adirondack park was formed in 1892 and is bigger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Glacier combined. It is the largest publicly protected area in the contiguous United States; under the New York State constitution, the land is protected as “forever wild.” Of its six million acres, just over half are privately owned, and, thanks to zoning laws, most of the family camps are scattered acres apart from each other, creating unrivaled privacy for families who spend their summers in the mountains. Though originally the domain of loggers and hunters, it became a summer destination in the nineteeth century after William H. H. Murray published Adventures in the Wilderness, Or, Camp-Life in the Adirondacks and Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau opened a health resort at Saranac Lake. William West Durant developed the architectural style known as the “Great Camp,” which was copied and reproduced for families. Today, much of the landscape and traditions of camp life continue to thrive. 7 0 Q UES T
This page, clockwise from top left: A black bear; an historic postcard of the Sagamore; the playroom at Margaret Vanderbilt’s Camp Sagamore; The Uplands, a typical Adirondack-style camp; fly fishing; a group gathers in late afternoon, including Chris Manice, Nicole Hanley Mellon, Harry LeFrak, and Locke and Lily Maddock. Opposite, clockwise from top left: At Bolton Landing on Lake George aboard a 1937 Hackercraft and a 1937 Chris-Craft; a
daphn e bo ro w s k i ( G roup )
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1931 Model-A Ford; Peter and Sarah Bertine on a float.
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This page, clockwise from top: “The Huntsman,” a photograph by Kathy Landman, captures the Millbrook Hunt Club; a view of Lake Minnewasaka from Millbrook Mountain Road; the Field family; a rider checks her position during the Fitch’s Corner Horse Trials.
Millbrook originally settled by Quakers in the middle of the eighteenth century, Millbrook, in
Dutchess County, New York, is best known for its bucolic rolling hills of hunt country. With vast tracks of farm land, the equestrian life has always reigned supreme here, making Millbrook a favorite destination for the horsey set. The nineteenth-century village itself dates from the arrival of the railroad in 1869. Though the railroad no longer exists, Franklin Avenue and the village green still do, as does the Tribute Garden for fallen soliders in the heart of town. But the Millbrook community’s heart really beats for the horses. From the reputable Millbrook Hunt Club, to the Mashomack Polo Club, to the Horse Trials at Fitch’s Corner—every type of equestrian sport can be found. For hunting, the 1,900-acre Mashomack Fish and Game Preserve is a favorite among sportsmen. The summer season begins with the International Polo Challenge at Mashomack and concludes with the Millbrook Horse Trials in August. 7 2 Q UES T
This page, clockwise from top left: The Mashomack International Polo Challange; Farnham Collins with his horse, Limerick; post-and-rail fences line the roads in Millbrook; Karen and Everett Cook at Box Turtle Farm; Thornedale, the Millbrook home of Mrs. Oakleigh
l i b r a ry of cong e ss ( v i ntag e ) / sa r a blo d g e t ( fam i l i e s )
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Thorne; Tony Hennenbert in his tree house.
This page, clockwise from top left: The Cushing family at their home, The Ledges; an early historic map of Newport; a view of the city of Newport from Jamestown, Rhode Island; the windmill at Hammersmith Farm in Newport, where a young Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy spent her summers.
Newport Founded by English settlers in 1639, Newport’s history begins with Anne Hutchinson, who fled Boston from religious persecution. Beyond the Bellevue mansion façades, visitors can still see the Quaker and religious roots in the town with landmarks like the Old Stone Mill, White Horse Tavern, and Trinity Church. As one of the largest ports on the East Coast, Newport bustled with economic growth in the early eighteenth century but was bypassed during the industrial revolution. Ironically, her frozen-in-time landscape became an asset for the rise of the summer community. Artists and writers came first, followed by elite families during the Gilded Age, including the King and Griswold families of New York, and then the Vanderbilts, who would transform Newport into the summer resort that it is today. Tied to the sea, Newport is known for her sailing community, with many regattas throughout the summer. 7 4 Q UES T
This page, clockwise from top left: Bob Dylan performing at the Newport Folk Festival, 1963; the entrance to Marble House, one of Newport’s famous mansions; the grass courts at the Casino, home of the International Tennis Hall of Fame; Eileen Slocum with her grandchildren; the wedding of Jack and Jackie in Newport; Topsy Taylor at Gooseberry
l i b r a ry of cong r e ss ( v i ntag e ) / p e te r m e lle r as ( fam i l i e s )
Island; David Ray aboard his lake launch, Ahab.
This page, clockwise from top left: A view of Lake Agawam from First Neck Lane; Dolly and Jack Geary, Pat Wood Ney, and Hilary Geary Ross; old Halsey House, one of the oldest buildings on the East End; Dr. T. Gaillard Thomas, father of the Southampton Summer Colony; the McKnights at their home.
Southampton the oldest English settlement in the state of New York, Southampton was settled in 1640 by a group of English Puritans who came from Massachusetts. Now one of the toniest of towns, the 11968 zip code originated as a summer destination during the industrial revolution, when doctors would frequently perscribe sea air for a host of maladies. One of those doctors was the gynecologist Dr. T. Gaillard Thomas, who settled in Southampton and recommended the town as a cure for “women’s hysteria.” Top-notch golf courses and exquisite grass courts have added appeal to athletes, but, to this day, it is the beaches of Long Island that make it a favored resort. (Cooper’s Beach is a constant on world charts.) Southampton’s historic roots can still be seen between her high privet hedges. For instance, Halsey House, a home of one of the original settlers who traded with the Shinnecock Indians, still stands proud on South Main Street. And there’s always Gin Lane, where cattle once grazed. 7 6 Q UES T
This page, clockwise from top left: The Southampton Bathing Corporation at the turn of the century; Jim and Molly Ferrer with their dogs, J.B. and China; the legendary beaches of Long Island; The Fairy Tale Chase by famed painter of the Shinnecock Hills, William Merritt Chase; the Hackett family; with one of the most challenging courses,
southampton h i sto r i cal soc i e t y ( v i ntag e ) / e r i c st r i ffle r ( fam i l i e s )
the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club hosts the U.S. Open.
spirit of the seas
While some people prefer to sip bubbly on the deck of a megayacht in St. Tropez during high season, I’d rather sit on the rail of a classic sloop in Newport during race season. A leisurely pastime for some, sailing is a very competitive sport for others. As racing has evolved over the past century, wood has been abandoned for fiberglass, steel, aluminum, and carbon fiber. In 1970, the last wooden hull was constructed for the America’s Cup with the 12 Meter Heritage. Boats quickly became lighter and faster, and wooden racing boats became a thing of the past. Thankfully, the past inspires the future, as evidenced by 00 QUEST
Boston native and Rhode Island resident Donald Tofias. Tofias once practiced commercial real estate by day and dreamed of a new class of one-design wooden race boats by night. By 1996, he quit the real-estate game only to begin a new game of blending past and present with tradition and beauty on the water. The idea was simple: blend the best from the glory days with today’s technology. Tofias envisioned the classic lines of Herreshoff’s New York 50s from 1913 merged with the sleek design of the wooden 12 Meters. Tofias commissioned Maine native and naval architect Joel
TIM WRIGHT
By camilla bradley
W-Class’s Wild Horses racing in the Caribbean, south of Antigua, in the Antigua Classics Regatta In April 2000. J U LY 2 0 1 0 7 9
This page, clockwise from top left: Every proper yacht has a bronze plaque identifying its builder, designer, and year—it’s a yacht’s crown jewel; Race Horse under construction at the Brooklin Boatyard in Brooklin, Maine; Race Horse’s laminated frames; Race Horse in the travel lift slings.
White, son of writer E.B. White, to design the new W-Class. White had been constructing yachts along the coast of Maine for more than four decades and shared Tofias’s vision of combining “the spirit of the future with the soul of the past.” Thus, W-Class was born. A pair of W-76s were the first boats and were the largest identical wooden racing yachts built in more than eighty years. Builders used the cutting-edge method of cold molding to gradually build up thin layers of wood to make a solid veneer, sealed and strengthened by epoxy. There is something truly special about wooden boats. Turn to any page of Wooden Boat magazine and you’ll get a sense of how fanatical its aficionados are. Perhaps it’s the use of a material that has lived a full life
prior to its life as a vessel. It has a past and a soul. It has spirit. White had a lot of spirit too. When he fell ill during construction of the 76s, Tofias sent him a message suggesting they put the project on hold. White’s response was, “Wild horses couldn’t keep me away from this project.” And from that came the name of the first W-76, Wild Horses. White Wings, the second, launched a few months later, and was named in honor of White, who died before her launch. If I come back in my next life as a W-Class boat, I’d consider myself lucky. Incarnations of the past, the boats were conceived on Maine’s rocky shores, bred in Newport and Nantucket, and schooled in the winter months on the shores of St. Barth’s, Antigua, and the Med. Not a bad life for this new breed of sailor, who is rekindling the past and giving birth to a new class of racing sloop. uc
T I M W R I G H T ( O P P O S I TE ) / K AT H Y L . B R AY ( D R A W I N G )
Center: An illustration of the W-76 boat Wild Horses. Opposite: White Wings reaching off in the Antigua Classics Regatta in April 2000.
The idea behind W-Class was simple: blend the best from the glory days with today’s technology. Donald Tofias envisioned the classic lines of Herreshoff ’s New York 50s from 1913 merged with the sleek design of the wooden 12 Meters.
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Two islands, two idylls:
Classics off the Cape Known for rambling beaches, quaint harbors, and seventeenth-century charm, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket capture the heart of New England summertime By daniel cappello
Martha’s Vineyard Scenes from the Vineyard: houses abutting the sea; sailboats dotting the harbors; a train leaving Oak Bluffs Wharf in the late 1800s; a classic gingerbread cottage. Opposite: The iconic Gay Head Cliffs and Gay Head Lighthouse, on the westernmost part of the island; a modern-day Fourth of July; lounging on the beach in bygone days.
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there’s a reason why President Barack Obama and his family will be taking their summer vacation on Martha’s Vineyard. It’s not just the political heritage of the place (remember the Clintons and the Kennedys sharing boat rides with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Maurice Tempelsman on his boat?). Nor is it the overwhelmingly Democratic heritage of the island for that matter (in the 2008 election, for every eleven votes cast for Obama on Martha’s Vineyard, there was only one vote for John McCain). Instead, it’s the sheer beauty, tranquility, and privacy of the fabled New England summer escape—an oasis of red-clay cliffs, soft beaches, and grassy sand dunes—that has attracted Americans from throughout the ages, from wealthy Boston merchants and magnates to modern-day Hollywood directors and millionaires. Also off the coast of the Cape Cod shorelines, though further east and further south of the Vineyard, as residents and regular vacationers call it, lies that other stalwart of bygone beach Americana, Nantucket. Slightly smaller and more self-contained than the Vineyard, Nantucket has long been regarded as the WASPier, quieter counterpart to Martha’s Vineyard. (Though the majority of Nantucket, at 54%, remains politically unaffiliated, the island is known as summer-home territory for mega-rich hedge-funders, whose sympathies may lie a little more on the Republican side of the waters.) Still, Nantucket can claim a first in black politics: the abolitionist Frederick Douglass gave his first speech before an all-white audience in the Nantucket Atheneum’s Great Hall in 1841. This playful back-and-forthing—or friendly competition—is
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something of a tradition between the two “rival” islands, even if residents of each community don’t really engage in it. Still, even if it’s something that only summertime inhabitants do—or, perhaps even funnier, something that people who don’t even make the trip to either island do—the proximity of the two islands, not to mention their parallel pasts, makes for some fun comparisons. For instance, did you know that Nantucket has the highest concentration of pre-Civil War structures in the U.S.? Or that railings and door frames on Martha’s Vineyard are limited in color to white and light gray? Indeed, differences abound between the two. The Vineyard is a larger landscape of beaches, harbors, rocky coasts, inner waterways, and multiple towns. Nantucket, on the other hand, is basically one landscape—an extended beach, or set of beaches, wrapping around the soft beauty of the green island. Martha’s Vineyard is home to gray-shingled seacoast houses and mansions, yes, but, unlike Nantucket, it is also home to the more bohemian gingerbread style. Whether you prefer the cobblestones of downtown Nantucket or the red-brick sidewalks of the Vineyard’s Edgartown; watching boats sail in from Vineyard Sound or Nantucket Sound; catching Carly Simon in concert along the shores of the Vineyard or biking over to Brant Point Lighthouse—one of these islands is sure to suit your tastes. Bikes, sails, sandy pathways, clambakes, hydrangea bushes teeming on front yards, trellis roses and window boxes, and ubiquitous American flags, this is the idyllic American summer par excellence, no matter which way the ferry takes you—be it Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard. u
Nantucket Today and yesterday on the island that natives and regular summertime-goers dub “ACK�: Just steps from the ferries and cobblestone Main Street, the Straight Wharf Restaurant always beckons; a boat that says it all; a classic clambake on the beach; biking and sailing are what summer is all about on the island with beaches on every side.
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Martha’s Vineyard
vs.
Norsemen supposedly spotted the isle in the 11th
The Wampanoag inhabited the island until about 1602, when English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold sailed to
< Year founded >
Often referred to simply as “The Vineyard,” locals and
Sometimes called “The Grey Lady” because of the
< Nickname >
to “America,” which sits across the water).
Off season, Nantucket’s population is a round 10,000.
< Population swell >
number jumps up to about 75,000. Even if you don’t do The Vineyard, you’ve surely spotted (and might even
Clichéd but < necessary clothing >
< Historic American >
< Fabled author >
Chop Cemetery on Vineyard Haven.
< All-American rep >
yard for vacations in the summer.
High-powered < political wife >
house known as Red Gate Farm.
palette, owns a home on ACK.
Teresa Heinz and her husband, Senator John Kerry, own a home near
and her husband, Frank, enjoy their
The Nantucket Film Festival has
< Hollywood star >
Lee is known to vacation on The Rock.
honored the screenwriter Judd Apatow for his work on flicks like Superbad.
Jaws took place on “Amity Island,” toric harborside town on The Vineyard.
line is famous for its American-flag
summer home on Nantucket.
Though he didn’t direct the movie
which was actually Edgartown, a his-
Moby Dick, without ever having visited.
Kathie Lee Gifford, of NBC’s “Today,”
< Morning-show host >
own Chip Chop, a white-frame house.
The Rock, film writer and director Spike
Melville made Nantucket famous in
the Brant Point Lighthouse.
Former ABC morning host Diane Sawyer and her husband, Mike Nichols,
mother, was born on Nantucket. Her
Tommy Hilfiger, whose clothing
Meg Ryan, American as apple pie,
the privacy of her gray saltbox-style
now J. Crew makes them easy to get).
Nineteenth-century writer Herman
Twentieth-century writer William Styron
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis relished
et Reds,” which fade to pink (though
birthsite is known as “The Bench.”
tage of Bishop Gilbert Haven.
is known to frequent Martha’s Vine-
Murray’s Toggery Shop sells “Nantuck-
Abiah Folger, Benjamin Franklin’s
Ulysses S. Grant even vacationed
lived here. He is buried in the West
In season, temperatures mount and the number swells to about 50,000.
own) a T-shirt from The Black Dog.
here, staying at the gingerbread cot-
almost perpetual fog, Nantucket is also warmly called “ACK,” the three-letter denomination for its airport.
The larger of the two islands, Martha’s Vineyard has a regular population of 15,000. Come summer, that
century, but the English deeded it to Thomas Mayhew, of Martha’s Vineyard, in 1641.
the New World. The Brits claimed it by 1641.
summer regulars also call it “The Rock” (as opposed
Nantucket
Manhattanite Mrs. X tries to save
< Movie set >
her marriage with a family vacay on Nantucket in The Nanny Diaries.
Stable Mates By GEORGINA SCHAEFFER
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A mare greets the number one stud, Om El Shahmaan, the most magnificent Arabian at the Om El Arab International farm in Santa Ynez, California.
Above: The cover of the new book Stables: Beautiful Paddocks, Horse Barns, and Tack Rooms (Rizzoli), written by Kathryn Masson and photographed by Paul Rocheleau. Opposite: One of the paddocks at Gros Ventre River Ranch in Jackson Hole Valley, Wyoming.
an arabian proverb reads, “The wind of heaven is that which blows through a horse’s ears.” With all the affection for and appreciation of these beloved beasts, it should come as no suprise that special care is taken when building their homes. In the new book Stables: Beautiful Paddocks, Horse Barns, and Tack Rooms, author Kathryn Masson and photographer Paul Rocheleau take readers on a journey through twentyfive striking stables in the United States. From classic New England barns, to Kentucky stud farms, to Texas ranches and California horse-breeding operations, nearly every type of barn and stable that encapsulates American horse country is represented in this book. There’s Devon Glenn Farm in Massachusetts, home to one of the oldest fox hunts in the country. With respect for this heritage, it took the owners six years to build a historically authentic post-and-beam barn. Out in the Jackson Hole Valley, Gros Ventre River Ranch retains all of its original beauty as a nineteenth-century homestead with its log cabins and barns. It was converted into a dude ranch in the 1950s and re-sold in the 1980s to owners who have continued building in the Western tradition. At Om El Arab International, one of the top Arabian breeding facilities, the Mediterranean-style buildings more closely resemble a country club than a barn. While horses today may not be of the vital economic importance they once were, the pages of Stables makes evident that the value of the horse will always remain priceless. u J U LY 2 0 1 0 9 1
A collection of nineteenth-century carriages and sleighs are housed in this historically authentic post-andbeam barn at the Devon Glen Farm in South Hamilton, Massachusetts.
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visions of the new world By R. Alexander Boyle and w. douglas dechert at Daybreak, the sunlight reveals a landscape wild and savage, unlike anything this world had seen before, vibrant with life, untamed, with vast virgin forests, strange creatures, flocks of birds covering the sky from horizon to horizon. This was what the artists of the Hudson River School saw in the early nineteenth century. This new-world vision was punctuated by a pair of natural events the size and scale of which were so enormous they still dwarf anything seen since that time. The first was the volcanic eruption of Tambora in Indonesia in 1815, one without equal in recorded history. It shot so much ash into the atmosphere 94 QUEST
that 1816 was called the “Year without a Summer” or “Eighteen Hundred and Froze-to-Death.” America saw snow and crop failures, Europe saw food riots and famine. Upheaval and unemployment drove a young Englishman named Thomas Cole and his family to move across the Atlantic in hope of a more prosperous life. Also impacted by the “Year without a Summer,” the Erie Canal project was stalled in 1817 by a malaria epidemic in the swamps of Syracuse, but construction soon surged west with laborers from the failed farms of New England. The Canal was complete by 1825, just in time for Thomas Cole to appear with canvases of the wild and romantic heights of the
Above: Morning Over New York by Charles Herbert Moore (1840-1930), at the Vassar College Art Museum. Below: A contemporary photograph of the same view of New York from Hamilton Park in Weehawken, New Jersey.
Hudson River Valley far above the flow of settlers bound for the Fisherman’s Association (now Riverkeeper) in defending these canal and the American west. Three paintings by Cole that fall landmarks. Now it is possible to go to the Hudson and view the were exhibited in a picture-shop window on lower Broadway restored vistas that inspired these artists so long ago. From New York City, one can drive to the Bluffs of Weehawken, in New York City, and they made news in the New York Post on November 22, 1825. That long-lost review of American art where Burr shot Hamilton, and gaze upon the heavily altered described how artist John Trumbull went into the store and, harbor of New York. Farther north past the George Washington instead of collecting on his own sales, bought a work by Thomas Bridge on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River are the Cole, exclaiming, “This youth has done at once, and without Palisades, an interstate park purchased by the Rockefellers to instruction, what I can not do after fifty years of practice.” These preserve the cliffs from being turned into a rock quarry. Numerous rugged images without affectation allowed America to look at overlooks exist on the side of the parkway to allow extraordinary vistas to be seen. North of West Point is Storm King Mountain, itself in the mirror, and the country liked what it saw. a natural landmark painted In 1859, another by Samuel Colman in 1868, eruption occurred, this later the epicenter of an one from the sun itself in eighteen-year legal battle the first documented solar between Consolidated flare. The entire planet Edison and an alliance was buffeted by a wave of local environmental of charged particles that preservation-minded caused the greatest display groups. As one can tell of the aurora borealis ever by looking at Storm King, seen in North America best seen from Route 9-D and northern Europe. This on the east bank, Con-Ed symphony of light was lost and an important legal sufficiently bright enough precedent was established to read at midnight, and it by the Feds in 1965. They inspired Frederic Church wrote that the “remanded to paint “Twilight in the proceedings must include Wilderness,” a canvas that as a basic concern the excited critical esteem. The preservation of natural painting soon disappeared, beauty and national historforgotten like the solar ic sites, keeping in mind flare and the astronomer that in our affluent society, who discovered it. the cost of a project is only Time passed, trends one of several factors to be in art came and went. considered.” Impressionism supersedAbove Hyde Park lie ed the Barbizon, then two more stunning places Cubism, then Abstract of interest before reaching Expressionism. Given this This page: Falls of the Kaaterskill, 1826, by Thomas Cole (1801-1848), the expected ultimate prize context, the rediscovery at the Westervelt-Warner Museum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. of the Catskills. The first in 1963 of Church’s lost Opposite: The Kaaterskill Falls in June 2010. is the stately Vanderbilt “Twilight” aroused only a collective yawn in the art world. Oblivious and ignorant mansion, situated on a site painted in 1856 by Johann of the cosmic event that inspired its creation, an art dealer Carmiencke. It has a great view looking up the river towards the likened it to calendar art. Eventually it found a home in the Catskills, and remains surprisingly faithful to the nineteenthCleveland Museum, and “Twilight” very soon symbolized an century view. This is best seen from the parking lot exit to the American Paradise lost, recognition that galvanized the start north of the main house. Eight miles up is the Mills Mansion, also a Stanford White design. It has a view from its boathouse of the modern environmental movement. This is the story of how the Hudson River School rose, won that’s oddly a near duplicate of the scene painted by Francis wide acclaim, and then disappeared. It was forcefully resurrected Silva that is erroneously titled, “Tappan Zee on the Hudson.” a century later, in the 1960s, when Hudson Valley residents sought Both the painting and the boathouse have the Esopus Meadows to reset the idea of nature ascendant, free from a purgatory of Lighthouse on the right with the Catskills in the distance. South of Hudson is the Frederic Church homestead Olana, power plants spewing pollution and industrial development. These paintings, accompanied by photographs taken by the atop a hill on the east side of the river with stunning views to author of the actual artist sites, reveal what remains of America’s the north, west, and south. The Moorish-style Victorian house original artistic Eden. That these vistas still exist is a tribute to had great vistas and remained in the artist’s family until 1963, the courtroom success of Scenic Hudson and the Hudson River when the artist’s daughter-in-law died and a group led by Daniel 96 QUEST
Bottom left: Francis Augustus Silvaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tappan Zee on the Hudson, at the Brooklyn Museum. Bottom right: A 2009 view from the Mills Mansion Boathouse, Staatsburg, New York.
Top left: Lake with Dead Trees, 1825, by Thomas Cole, at the Oberlin College Art Museum. Top right: The same view from South Lake, Catskills.
Huntington was given a year or two to buy the land as well as the contents of the home. Governor Nelson Rockefeller and the state stepped in with the final dollars needed to close the deal. The one caveat was that the property would belong to the state. Olana has been the crown jewel of the state-park system ever sinceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;though not without its own legal battles as well. In the 1970s, power companies applied to build a nuclear plant directly south of Olana, but the application was withdrawn in 1979, just after Three Mile Island. Across the Hudson from Olana is the Catskill Park. For world-class vistas, drive west on Route 23A through Palenville into Kaaterskill Clove. Almost all the way to Tannersville there is a waterfall on the right and a parking lot up the hill on the left. Park there and walk back to the lower falls, as that is the approach to Kaaterskill Falls, a half mile in and a quarter mile up. The double falls is the highest in New York, higher than Niagara, and it was here in 1825 where Cole first produced sketches of the vista, opening the way for landscape painting to become the dominant aesthetic of the nation. Not far from the falls are the North and South lakes, situated by the Catskill escarpment, former home of the Catskill Mountain House. The old hotel is gone, burned by the state in 1963, and the area has reverted back to nature. The area still has sweeping views of the Hudson, from Albany to Poughkeepsie and south. If you look close, in some places you can almost see where the artists signed the landscape itself by leaving their initials in the rock. u J U LY 2 0 1 0 9 9
a brightlight legacy Styled “America’s First Family of Fireworks” by the press some thirty years ago, Fireworks by Grucci has become a staple of many of the nation’s most important celebrations. Since its establishment more than 150 years ago in southern Italy, the family-run company has evolved from a small, local operation to an internationally recognized fireworks supplier without peer. To date, Grucci has participated in seven presidential inaugurations, four Olympic games, and three World Fairs. The company is currently run by the fourth and fifth generations of Gruccis, including president Donna Grucci Butler, her nephew and executive vice president, Felix James Grucci, and her brother, Felix Grucci, Jr., who acts as CFO. “It’s a
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f i r e wo r k s by g ru cc i
By Rebecc a Brow n
This page: The U.S. bid to the 2012 Olympic Committee. Opposite, clockwise from top left: Mashantucket Pequot fireworks going off in New London, Connecticut; the Grucci family working for the Brooklyn Bridge bicentennial; the Grucci family at their Brookhaven facility; Felix, Jr., and Felix, Sr., assembling an American flag in 1968; The 4th of July display in Florida in 2008. J U LY 2 0 1 0 1 0 1
f i r e wo r k s by g ru cc i
twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week job,” Donna says. “When we go home, we never really stop talking about the business.” The company’s founder, Angelo Lanzetta, moved his family from Italy to Long Island in 1870, immigrating through Ellis Island. After his death, his son and nephew took over, and by the third generation of Gruccis, the company had managed to land on its feet following the Great Depression. This was due, in part, to Felix Grucci, Sr.’s, decision to enter into a contract with the Department of Defense to help develop atomic-bomb and weapon simulators used to train troops in the lead up to the Korean War. “During that time there weren’t many fireworks programs.” Donna says. In 1979, the Gruccis made history by being the first American company to win the gold medal at the Monte Carlo International Fireworks Competition. Donna remembers it well, calling the win one of their “most exciting” milestones. “As a family, it was the first time we were leaving the country. You know, we didn’t expect to win.” After taking home the prize, Grucci continued to garner bigger and better clients. In 1980, the Gruccis were contracted to put together a fireworks display for Ronald Reagan’s inauguration. Since then, they’ve participated in every presidential inauguration except President Obama’s, which didn’t include fireworks. Of all the events that Fireworks by Grucci has participated in, Donna is particularly fond of the one-hundred-year anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge, in 1983, and a program in Abu Dhabi that involved five firings in the Persian Gulf. Both set a precedent for how big the Gruccis could go, and in 2008, they set off their biggest display to date in Dubai for the Atlantis and Palm Jumeirah opening, setting a new world record. As for the future, Donna is optimistic. “We enjoy what we’re doing,” she says. “We’re learning generation to generation and we don’t want to break the chain. The challenge today is more difficult with all the changes in technology. We’re researching and developing in every area, making it truly an artwork. We pride ourselves on that.” u
This page: Macy’s 4th of July celebration on the Hudson. Insets: James Felix Grucci on Long Island in 1946; fireworks on the Huang Pu River in Shanghai. Opposite, clockwise from top left: Felix, Sr., and his wife working in Bellport; President Bush’s 2005 Inauguration; the 2008 Summer Olympics; The Plaza’s 100th anniversary; the opening of Wyn Encore in Macau. J U LY 2 0 1 0 1 0 3
PETS
MY FAVORITE THINGS what could be better than an off-leash run on the beach? Whether you’re going to Long Island, Nantucket, or Newport—summertime is the best for us canines. Like most of my friends, I know that when the bags come out of the closet, the car will be pulling up and I’ll be headed on an adventure. At the beach I’ll dig holes in the sand, nap on the lawn, and bury my bones in the yard. with georgina schaeffer
Sir Winston Chisholm
Quest Pets: Submit your pet to
My true joy in life is foraging for croquettes cheval and cow pies
“My Favorite Things” by sending photos and
in Millbrook. My best friend, Beau Royall, has taught me the
a description of your furry friend’s favorite
“secret” byways for successful romps through horse country.
activities to info@questmag.com.
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F r a n r e s i e r ( R EE V E S )
•
PETS
•
Tug Meigher I love summers on Lake George with my family. Chasing ducks,
•
catching fish, playing ball, eating bacon...I especially love to swim (I am even faster than my speedy dad!) and take “booze cruises” aboard Whitecap.
Cooper Reeves I love my mom more than anyone because she saved me from the doggie slammer at Animal Care and Control. My favorite activity is taking long walks every morning in Central Park and playing with my girlfriends Pepper and Ginger. I also put on quite a show for treats, but never share with my feline roommate, Kate.
•
Nelson Guest I push my nose through the banister so everyone can stop to pet me and tell me how utterly adorable I am (of this, I am aware). I like to watch who is coming in the front door so I may greet Mom.
Cotopaxi Winters I am named
•
after the Cotopaxi volcano in Quito (from where I was adopted), but I go by Coto
Samantha Gilbertson
for short. I love carrots
I love to play with my toys, play fetch,
and blueberries and I do
and swim in the ocean. On a hot day, I
excel in commands, but
can be found sleeping under the rho-
my favorite thing is Mom’s
dodendrons in my “hidey-ho” (hiding
space on the bed!
•
hole) under the porch.
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Brown
YGL
THE YOUNG & THE GUEST LIST Quest ventures inside New York’s sizzling summer parties to report back on the action. This month, the Whitney Art Party, a dinner at The Lion, and the “Flights of Fancy” gala were among the most coveted invites. by Elizabeth Brown
Partygoers disco dancing at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s spring gala, “Flight of Fancy.”
“tIa Briggs Fraser, an apparent Casanova, stands with fellow Trinity College alums Elizabeth Brown, Frances Cain, Lindsay Torpey-Cross, Jennifer Cuminale, and Patricia Poekel at the Central Park Zoo.
Robert Matheson and Mareill Kiernan at the Sea Lion pool for “Flights of Fancy.”
John Freker and Lizzy Fraser at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s spring gala.
Taylor Karns and Carly Williams at the “Flights of Fancy” gala.
Keren Craig, Devon Aoki, and Georgina Chapman, all
Katherine Mueller, Paige Donnelley, and
wearing Marchesa, at the Central Park Zoo.
Ashley Gilroy at the “Flights of Fancy” gala.
Patrick mcmullan
“Each embraces new york with the intense excitement
of first love, each absorbs New York with the fresh yes of an adventurer, each generates heat and light to dwarf the Consolidated Edison Company,” wrote E. B. White in Here is New York. The past month has been electric. A city alive on sparkling summer nights. At the end of May, the Junior Committee of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children hosted “Shanghai Nights” at Shang at Thompson LES. Tatiana Perkin, president of the Junior Committe officers, says, “We were particularly impressed with Shang’s delicious hors d’oeuvres and touched by their generosity. We were also so encouraged by the heavy attendance from our
board and the significant increase in ticket sales.” Guests enjoying one another’s company (and the pan-Asian fare) included Anisha Lakhani of PinkMemo and Alexandra Wilkis Wilson of Gilt. The annual “Art Party” (sponsored by BCBGMAXAZRIAGROUP) was hosted by the Whitney Contemporaries of the Whitney Museum of American Art at 82MERCER on June 9. I entered the event behind Jack Bryan and Kipton Cronkite of KiptonART, emerging into a maze of greenery decorated with twinkling lights. Around one corner, artist Jason Middlebrook was spray-painting Sasha Blue; around another, artist Ellen Harvey was splashing red wine on Arden Wohl. Oscar Wilde once mused, "Life imitates J U LY 2 0 1 0 1 0 7
Linc,
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Matthew and Nicole Mellon with Serena Boardman
art more than art imitates life." Perhaps that would explain the red wine stain on my dress at the end of the night? Later, it was past Wass Stevens and up the stairs at Avenue for the “Bionic Album Release of Christina Aguilera.” By midnight, booths were bustling with current besties Christina Aguilera and Kim Kardashian (see: every tabloid) and sisters Dabney Mercer and Tinsley Mortimer among them. Cousins Oliver Ames and Luke Morgan got “Dirrty” to old-school rap, but where, oh, where was the vintage Xtina? By the end of the night, all I wanted was a little “Genie in a Bottle”... The following evening, Dori Cooperman, Charlie Kim, and Kevin and Ulla Parker hosted a dinner at The Lion following the “Mastercard Meatpacking Shopping Event.” Matthew and Nicole Mellon and others enjoyed former Waverly Inn chef John deLucie’s prix fixe menu, which featured a delicious “New England Scallops” entrée. And while the restaurant’s classic American fare certainly wasn’t alien, Classy author Derek Blasberg’s purple E.T. shirt was out of this world! Then it was off to The Pierre to pre-game with my girlfriends. A costume change later, I was marching toward the
From left: Coralie Charriol and Celerie Kemble at The Lion; Bronson van Wyck and Ulla Parker dine at The Lion.
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Central Park Zoo in a white Milly dress and my new Miu Miu wooden platform shoes. The Wildlife Conservation Society’s “Flights of Fancy” gala was literally aglow with purple lighting and, of course, excited partygoers showing off their fashions like peacocks. Cocktails were served around the Sea Lion pool, where guests mingled over screwdrivers and the occasional bite. Between playing “the name game” and dancing to disco, I found myself in the bathroom line behind Devon Aoki, looking radiant (despite the flourescent lighting) in orange Marchesa. The unofficial after-party was at Dorrian’s (of course), where gift bags filled with Dr. Stuart Fischer’s The Park Avenue Diet and LARABARs were scattered across the redand-white checkered tables. I twirled (and was twirled) to “Come On Eileen” and “Runaround Sue.” Love! So what’s up next? Avenue’s one-year anniversary party and the Fourth of July! It doesn’t matter where you spend the holiday—The Vineyard, The Hamptons, Manhattan. As long as it’s in Amerrrica. I plan on expressing my patriotism this year with a head wreath of white roses with red and blue ribbons, which I think will be pretty dope. Who wants to match? u
pat r i c k m c m u ll a n / Tat i a n a P e r k i n
and Dori Cooperman.
Brook Boyde and Cena Jackson support NYSPCC, an organization devoted to children.
Greg Krelenstein, Leigh Lezark and Geordon Nicol of The MisShapes at the Whitney Art Party.
Christina Aguilera and Kim Kardashian at Avenue. Tatiana Perkin, Amelia Osborne, Avery Broadbent, and Caroline Rowley at “Shanghai Nights” at Shang at Thompson LES.
Works displayed (and auctioned) by the Whitney Contemporaries.
Tiffin and Glenn Schwarzkopf at the Whitney Art Party at 82MERCER.
Sasha Blue was Jason Middlebrook’s canvas at a party
Serena Williams and Selita Ebanks
hosted by the Whitney Museum of American Art.
celebrate Christina Aguilera’s new album. J U LY 2 0 1 0 1 0 9
a p p e a r a n c es
new york,
new york by hilary geary
“I love New York in the spring, how
’bout you?” Ol‘ Blue Eyes did and I know you do too. How can you not? Think of the longer, light-filled days, thanks to good old daylight savings. There’s all the beautiful spring flowers: peonies, hyacinths, narcissuses, daffodils, and cherry blossoms all over the park.Plus, the spectacular Conservatory garden uptown, tulips on Park Avenue, and all the other rites of spring! How ’bout all the beautiful hats, 110 QUEST
rivaling Ascot, at the Central Park Conservancy lunch or the glam opening night of the American Ballet Theatre season or the delicious Irvington House dinner, “In the Kitchen,” at the Four Seasons Restaurant? Everyone is back in town to enjoy the city in all its glory. There were all kinds of worthwhile benefits too for such charities as the Boys Club of New York, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, plus opera, theater, book parties, lunches,
dinners, and more! They are all wonderful, but my favorite evenings are always the cozy private dinners when you can really catch up with pals. The most glamorous little dinner of all was the one John and Susan Gutfreund gave for Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti at their dazzling New York apartment. I have to say, the Gutfreunds’ apartment is one of the most beautiful in New York City, hands down! It is a drop-dead magnificent
pat r i c k m c m u ll a n
From left: Guests mingle at the McInerneys’ downtown penthouse; Anne Hearst McInerney and Charles Askegard at a party for Candace Bushnell’s new book.
duplex in a building designed by famed New York architect Rosario Candela, natch. The well-appointed apartment is not only flooded with light, but also has a grand staircase, parquet floors, antique paneling, beautiful moldings and boisere, and is filled with treasures, paintings, and objets, all overlooking Central Park. This gorgeous abode is also cozy and comfortable, too, thanks to Susan, as she has filled it with art, flowers, books, and photographs. Susan really knows how to entertain. First of all, she always makes it fun. She always serves wonderful food, the finest wines, and consistently puts together an exciting guest list and makes sure everyone is introduced. The seated dinner was in honor of the superstar designer Valentino and his charming partner,
and fine china. Susan always serves delicious comfort food with fabulous wines. We sipped on heavenly Chateau Latour and Elivatte of Napa Valley. The first course was crab cakes, followed by springtime veal stew and a scrumptious coconut pudding, which I took seconds of—yum! Among the lucky guests were the oneand-only Tony Bennett and his daughter Joanna, the talented designer V. Bruce Hoeksema, who has a fabulous store on Madison Avenue, George Farias, Princess Firyal of Jordan, Julia and David Koch, Tamara Mellon of Jimmy Choo fame, Marina Palma from London, Peggy Siegal, Charlene de Ganay, Sofia Barclay, a beautiful young actress, and Nick Kendall, the brilliant violinist. After dinner, Susan had a special treat
town to celebrate their pal Candace Bushnell’s new book, The Carrie Diaries, a prequel to the famous Sex and the City book, depicting Carrie’s teenage years. You can imagine what fun this book is! Hurry up and buy one—it is a hoot! The Hearst-McInerney penthouse is a dream apartment, with terraces galore, and as it was a perfect night, we had drinks on the terrace overlooking the cityscape. The lucky guests not only got a copy of Candace’s new book, but also a Nicole Miller gift bag filled with Slatkin candles, MAC “Cosmo” and “Girl About Town” lipsticks, and beautiful stationery from Bell’Invito. Among the group were Alison Mazzola, Stephen Drucker, the new editor of Town and Country magazine, George Farias, Barbie Bancroft, Ann Barish, Wendy Stark, Dana and
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From left: Violinist Nick Kendall at Susan Gutfreund’s (right) party for Valentino (far right); Rose Dergan, Will Cotton, and Mary Boone at the McInerneys.’
Giancarlo. (I hope you saw last year’s fabulous √alentino: The Last Emperor about the designer. If not, rent it!) The evening was called for 8 p.m. and we sipped icy vintage champagne and nibbled on yummy hors d’oeuvres for just the right amount of time (about fortyfive minutes) before heading down the stairs to dinner. Susan, ever chic dressed in Ralph Rucci, set up two round tables set with luscious fresh flowers, embroidered linens with extra large napkins
planned for David and Julia Koch’s fourteenth anniversary: a performance by Nick Kendall. Wow, what a talent! Nick comes from a musical family and started playing the violin at three years old. In 2002, he won first prize at the Young Concerts Artists and never looked back. What a lovely evening! Another night, that adorable couple Anne Hearst and Jay McInerney, the author and wine columnist, opened the doors to their romantic penthouse down-
Patrick Stubgen, Alex Kuczynski, Gigi Benson, Cornelia and Marty Bregman, and more. Speaking of the Bregmans, Cornelia and Marty had a drinks party to “welcome spring” at one of my favorite restaurants, Le Cirque. I spotted in the crowd Academy Award-winner Al Pacino, who will be playing Shylock in The Merchant of Venice at the Public Theater’s 2010 Shakespeare in the Park, running through August 1. Another dazzling month! u J U LY 2 0 1 0 1 1 1
S NA P S HO T
standing stalwart amid the trendy shops that come
and go every season in Southampton is a diminutive monument to the town’s colonial past. Once the workplace of the silversmith Captain Elias Pelletreau (of French Huguenot descent), this small gambrel-roofed shop, built in 1696, is alive again at the hands and hammer of another Frenchman, Eric Messin, a silversmith and jewelry designer. The Southampton Historical Society, which owns and operates the shop, approached Messin to house his store in the historic building in 2006. It was a perfect fit for the artisan, who specializes in custom jewelry work. Messin also teaches classes ($340 for an eight-week course) to pass on the craft. Inside the shop, there is a permanent exhibit of Pelletreau’s colonial 112 QUEST
period silver as well as some of his tools, scales and crucibles. In the jewelry vitrines, pieces created by Messin (and even a few of his students) are on view and available for purchase. It’s a Fourth of July tale: Three generations of Pelletreaus worked as silversmiths in Southampton beginning in the seventeenth century. When the British occupied Southampton during the Revolutionary War, Elias refused to bow to King George III and temporarily moved to Connecticut, only to return to the town of Southampton when the war was over and continue his silver legacy. —Georgina Schaeffer The Pelletreau Silver shop on Main Street in Southampton is currently the workshop to a new silversmith designer, Eric Messin.
co u rte s y o f t h e s o u t h a m p to n h i s to r i c a l s o c i e t y
a 4th of july tale
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