Quest November 2011

$5.00 NOVEMBER 2011

The ENTERTAINING Issue

cornelia guest photographed by harry benson at templeton

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SHEN YUN

“A mesmerizing performance.”

© 2011 Shen Yun Performing Arts

— Donna Karan, creator of DKNY

ANciENt cUltUrE rEborN EvEry lEgEnd has its history. Every story has its truths. and the best are rarely forgotten.

For the past 5,000 years, China amassed a diverse legacy of heroes, myths, and values that still resonate in the present. Today, shen yun Performing arts is reviving the essence of traditional Chinese culture in full color on stages around the world. In January, the company will be back at lincoln Center for the third time in a year.

“It was an extraordinary experience,” said academy award-winning actress Cate Blanchett after watching shen yun, “the level of skill, but also the power of the archetypes and the narratives were startling. and of course it was exquisitely beautiful.” gorgeous backdrops extend the stage, transporting the audience to distant lands and eras. an orchestra that combines Western and Chinese instruments like no other accompanies the dancers with stirring scores.

“Has the grandeur of

an imperial court.”

— Countess Nicholas Bobrinskoy

ride with Mongolians across endless steppes. recall the grandeur of an ancient Tang dynasty palace. down in the valley, ladies of the yi ethnic group dance in rainbow skirts by the river. high up in the heavens, celestial fairies trail silken sleeves through the clouds. resounding drums awaken the dusty plateaus of the Middle Kingdom. shen yun strives to capture the spirit of traditional Chinese culture and its beliefs. ancient literary classics extol the compassionate, courageous, and loyal, values embodied by the most memorable characters. Thrill in the triumph of the great general yue Fei; cheer on the Monkey King as he tricks a stubborn foe; and witness how these values still endure in contemporary China. shen yun bridges past and present in an uplifting, inspiring, and indelible performance.

Shen Yun will be performing at David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center, January 11-15, 2012.

S T R I B L I N G

Perfect Prewar Penthouse. Terraced on every side, this elegant 10 room, full floor home is ideal for grand-scale entertaining. The living room, library & double master bedroom each have wood-burning fireplaces & French doors. Open city views. Offered with separate 2 bedroom guest apartment. $11.25M. Web #1269588. Jennifer Bowden 212-585-4551

Classic Beauty, 941 Park Avenue. Stately, prewar 10 room duplex.

Bright and sunny with beautifully proportioned rooms; in mint condition.

Sprawling, 4 bedrooms plus library, family room, state-of-the-art kitchen wing with dining area and maid’s room. $11M. Web #1273655. Linda Maloney 212-585-4527/Carol Mann 212-452-4426

Glorious Sun-filled 10 Rm Duplex. E 52nd. Architecturally beautiful & comfortable home in a distinguished prewar co-op. High ceilings, grand living rm with wood-burning fireplace, library, formal dining rm, enormous kitchen & breakfast rm, 3 MBRs, 4.5 baths, staff rm, office/gym & storage.

River views. New to mrkt. $8.95M. Web #1262712. C.Eland 452-4384

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Rare Park Avenue Maisonette. 2BR/2 bath co-op in a premier full service Park Avenue building. Grand entertaining space. Elegant living rm with elaborate moldings & decorative fireplace. Gracious square-shaped dining rm. Additionally there is laundry rm, staff rm & bath. $4M. $4944 maint. Web #1272496. K.Henckels 452-4402/J.Callahan 434-7063

Mint & Sunny 6 Room Just Off Fifth Avenue. E 86th. Beautifully renovated 6 room prewar apt with classic layout. 3BRs each with ensuite windowed bths just off Fifth Ave. An elegant foyer leads to the large LR with WBFP & adjacent DR/library. Windowed eat-in kitchen. High ceilings. Full service, pet-friendly. $2.795M. Web #1278010. A.Lambert 452-4408

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Central Park Views on Fifth: 3BR Prewar. Spectacular views from 4 rooms! LR has WBFP, formal DR, 3BRs, 2.5 bths, windowed eat-in kitch, office & laundry rm. Period details, hi ceils, huge entry gallery, herringbone floor. Light & sunny. Quite elegant & priced well. $4.495M. Prestigious Fifth Avenue co-op. $4.495M. Web #1216461. Cathy Taub 212-452-4387

STRIBLING

Grand Scale 6, Wrap Terrace & Wide Open East River Views on SPS. Hi corner w/S/W expos. Appx 2750 sf + 800 sf terr, 3BR, 3.5 bath, great kit, laundry rm. Luxurious interior: ie cstm Parq de Versailles flrs.

Luxurious exterior: ie 4 auto awnings & irrigation system. FS co-op w/gym, garage. Broker/owner. $4.5M. Web #1262554. J.Sacks 212-585-4539

Chic Triple Mint Condo. E 74th. Stylish split-2BR, 2.5 bath with corner living room/dining area & open kitchen. Master BR with custom closets, marble bath, second BR with ensuite bath, powder rm & W/D. Full service building with gym & pets okay. $2.495M. Web #1262363. J.Wenig 212-585-4522/C.Kurtin 212-452-4406/J.Vertullo Maher 646-709-3340

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S T R I B L I N G

Townhouse Living At Its Best! East 50th Street. Chic & charming 2BR, 2 bath co-op. Living room has wood-burning fireplace, high ceilings, Juliet balcony & huge windows. Flooded with south light. Located on a charming Beekman tree-lined street. Pied-a-terres & pets okay. $1.249M. Web #1221648. A.Van Der Mije 212-585-4562/C.Taub 452-4387

Big and Beautiful One Bedroom. Architecturally renovated home at 860 Fifth Avenue. Southern light, large closets & central air conditioning.

Elegant full service building allows pied-a-terre usage & pets. There is an inhouse garage for $351 per month & low maintenance. Reduced $899K. Web #1229183. J.Stockwell 646-613-2615/S.Mehra 646-613-2696

5 Room Condo Treasure. East 43rd. Sun-filled 2/3BR on a hi flr. SW corner living room with views of Chrysler Bldg, skyline & East River. Custom closets, renovated kitch. The International Plaza is a full service condo with 3 apts per floor, doorman, laundry rm, bike & storage rm. $1.695M. 1BR, 1.5 bth also avail for $925K. Web #1277091. B.Evans-Butler 452-4391

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Devonshire House Three Bedroom. East 10th Street. Emery Roth condominium with interior finishes by Victoria Hagan. Open kitchen with Wolf, Bosch and Sub-Zero appliances and washer/dryer. 3.5 baths. 24hour doorman. 2,272 square feet. $4.75M. Web #1270939. Robert McCain 646-613-2654/Kristina Wallison 646-613-2658

A Terrace in Tribeca. Light-filled & quiet prewar cooperative loft with 3 bedrooms plus office, 2.5 baths, 7 skylights, gas fireplace & high ceilings.

The large open living room, dining room & kitchen are perfect for entertaining. Plus your own private terrace! The building has live-in superintendent.

Co-exclusive. $2.4M. Web #1220856. Sharon Flynn 212-585-4579

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Contemporary 2 bedroom, 2 bath with fireplace, operable glass window walls, roof terrace and/or balcony off master bedroom. 421A tax abate pending. Complete offering plan available from the sponsor. File #CD100054. $1.399M. Web #1214553. Susan Wires 646-613-2653

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West Village Loft with Terrace. W 14th. Serenity, glowing S, E & W light & skyline views characterize this exceptional 2100 sf, 2BR, 2 bth condo with dining balcony, expansive entertaining spaces, library, chef's kitchen & huge MBR suite. Classic loft features & the finest finishes. $2.865M or $13,000/month rental. Web #1275401. Vals Osborne 646-613-2728

Gramercy Prewar 2 Bedroom, 2 Bath Plus Dining/Study. Live 3 doors from Gramercy Park in 1300 square foot apartment with winged bedrooms, rich, hardwood floors & woodwork, French doors, sun & treetop views. Serene. Cook in the renovated gourmet kitchen. $1.095M. Web #1272482. Dr Ed Rosner 917-597-4451/Georgia Asher 917-502-4864

Uptown: 924 Madison Avenue / 212-570-2440 Downtown: 340 West 23rd Street / 212-243-4000 Tribeca: 32 Avenue of the Americas / 212-941- 8420

130

124

CONTENTS 114

The E ntertaining I ssue 100 a Guest plays host Our editors head out for a day with the inimitable

Cornelia Guest at her home, Templeton.

E lizabeth Meigher,

photographed by

by

Daniel Cappello

and

Harry Benson

108 in a new york lens Cecil Beaton takes center stage in a new retrospective

114

at the Museum of the City of New York.

plate addict

by

Georgina Schaeffer

The “obsession of kings,” collecting china goes far beyond

the arverage hobby.

by

Georgina Schaeffer

118 flower camp Our fashion editor gets a crash course in avant-garde

flower arranging from Jeff Leatham.

by

D aniel C appello

124 nights to remember A look at Nick Foulkes’ new book on the

most outlandish balls of the twentieth century. by Christian Chensvold

130

Three-piece sweet

A trio of new recipe books from Rizzoli examines

the art of desserts.

Christian Chensvold

by

108

138

66

86

CONTENTS C olumns 22

Social Diary

66 70

72

86 92 134 74

Champagne chronicles of the social scene. by David Patrick Columbia

Social Calendar

Our guide to the month’s best benefits, balls, and more.

HARRY BENSON

Traveling to Israel for a speech by our thirty-seventh president.

observations

Reflections on marrying for love or money.

Fresh Finds canteens

Our favorite new must-haves.

by

by

Taki Theodoracopulos

Daniel Cappello

and

Eating fit for a king: John DeLucie’s Crown is now open.

Quest Archives

Elizabeth Meigher

by

Daniel Cappello

From our archives, a guide to the best types of guests to invite to a party.

What the Chairs Wear

Dressing the MSKCC ladies for their fall dance.

by

K aren K lopp

136 Appearances Around the globe from New York to Hong Kong and back. by Hilary Geary 138

young & the guest list

144

snapshot

Partying with the junior set.

by

Elizabeth Quinn Brown

A late-night trip to Daniel for a memorable delight.

by

G eoffery B radfield

74

769 madison avenue, new york city

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 FA S HION e d i t o r

daniel cappello se n i o r e d i t o r

lisa chung a ss o c i a t e a r t d i r ec t o r

valeria fox Ass o c i a t e e d i t o r

Elizabeth quinn Brown Societ y editor

Hilary Geary Contributing editor

christian cheNsvold Contributing writers

harry benson AR

geoffrey bradfield

OP

YE

1st ER

HE ATO R OF T

Karen Klopp JAMES MACGUIRE elizabeth meigher LIZ SMITH

KLEMM REAL ESTATE

Litchfield County’s Premier Brokers

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Chairman and C.E.O.

S. Christopher Meigher III M a r k e t i n g S e r v i ces

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ext .

106

Ass i s t a n t t o t h e C . E . O .

Kathleen Sheridan a cco u n t i n g m a n a g e r

arlene lefkoe pa l m b e ac h

linda lane soper 612.308.4159 g r ee n w i c h

christian chensvold 646.840.3404 ext . 110 chicago

timothy derr 847.615.1921 De t r o i t

Karen Teegarden 248.642.1773 Ho n g Ko n g

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Brucie Boalt Edward Lee Cave jed H. garfield Clark Halstead pamela liebman HOWARD LORBER Elizabeth Stribling Roger W. Tuckerman peter turino William Lie Zeckendorf © QUEST MEDIA, LLC 2011.

All rights reserved. Vol. 25, No. 11.

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editor’s letter

From left: Advice for entertaining. Photographer Cecil Beaton said: "Perhaps the world's worst crime is boredom; the second is being a bore." C.Z. Guest told her daughter "Be polite, meet everybody, and have a wonderful time." Oscar Wilde found it "harder and harder to live up to his blue china."

Back in 1982, C.Z. Guest offered her daughter, Cornelia, some

advice: “Be polite, meet everybody, and have a wonderful time.”

Her words have served our cover girl this month well. Once dubbed the “deb of the decade,” Cornelia has met everyone, and from uptown to downtown, from East Coast to West Coast, her reputation is sterling. These days you’ll find Cornelia entertaining at home, whipping up new vegetarian recipes, designing a line of cruelty-free handbags, and having a wonderful time.

Much is said about being a good host, but there is something to be said for being a good guest as well, which, I believe, is what the legendary C.Z. was offering in her advice. My own mother instilled in me at a young age that there is a responsibility you have to your host. (Something I imagine she learned from my grandmother, who, incidently, could charm the pants off just about anyone at a party). I can’t quite put it into words, but it’s more than just talking to the person on your left and right at a table—more than, as they say, “singing for your supper.” You should be charming, thoughtful (or thought-provoking), and most of all, you should be fun. I guess you could say the idea is that you are there to entertain as much as to be entertained.

This idea of being a good guest is a theme in our stories this month. From our archives, we republish a set of illustrations featuring New York characters which make for the ultimate mix of people at a party. (We all need a diva and a curmudgeon to keep the night interesting; otherwise, what would we talk about the next day?) Then, in Christian Chensvold’s review of the new Nick Foukles’ book Legendary Bals, there are some nostalgic photographs from the infamous Black and White Ball. Notably, the “Party of the Century” was criticized for the carefully curated guests not mixing with each other. Hack Duphy, Capote’s lover, is quoted as saying: “I’ve never seen such ghettoizing in all my life. No group mixed with another group.”

Elsewhere in the issue you will find more entertaining stories. Daniel Cappello recaps a trip he took to Paris for “flower camp,” and Christian serves up a delectable review of three new dessert books, while I write a piece on china. I’ve always been a 20 QUEST

bit of a tabletop junkie, which is also probably why I chose this Oscar Wilde quote as my e-mail signature: “Every day I find it harder and harder to live up to my blue china.”

Finally, we close with a “Snapshot” written by Geoffrey Bradfield about his special tradition of savoring madeleines at Daniel after dinner. One night last spring, I accepted his kind invitation for dinner (and subsequent traditional trip). A consumate host, Geoffrey had gathered about a dozen of us for the evening—of all ages and all types. Some of us knew one another, and some of us didn’t, but by the end of the evening we were all engaged in terrific conversion, equally charming to and charmed by each other. These are the nights that make living in New York so out-of-this-world. So when you head out and about on the town this month, remember the words of Cecil Beaton (whose recent retrospective at the Museum of the City of New York is also featured in this issue): “Perhaps the world’s worst crime is boredom; the first is being a bore.” u

Georgina Schaeffer

on the cover: At her family home, Templeton, Cornelia Guest offers her donkey, Madonna, a carrot. Nelson, her resident Westhighland Terrier, looks on. Cornelia wears a teal dress by Badgley Mischka. By Daniel Cappello and Elizabeth Meigher. Photographed by Harry Benson.

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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A

David Patrick Columbia

NEW YORK SO C IAL DIARY Changes. I published my

first “Social Diary” in Quest in October 1993. Much of the subject of discussion was about the summer that just passed in Southampton and the town’s denizens, as well as what, or rather whom, they were talking about.

Back in those days

there was always a divorce “scandal.”

Mercedes Kellogg, who by then had divorced her husband Fran Kellogg and been married to Sid Bass for several years, was still a popular topic because of the couple’s dual divorces and marriage, all of which began over

roll-throwing at someone’s luncheon table out there.

Well, it’s 18 years later—and 25 since Mercedes and Sid Bass married—and now they are divorced, which occurred earlier last month.

There was no “scandal” with this Bass divorce, although there had been a lot of hush-

hush whispering about whether or not they really were headed in that ultimate direction. The rumors first saw the light of day late last year in my column on the Web, and immediately were denied by their friends.

Nevertheless, almost a year later it turned out to be true, as it very often is when such

carnegie hall opened its season with a concert by the mariinsky orchestra

Giosetta Capriati 22 QUEST

Veronica and Nicola Bulgari

Henry and Marie-Josee Kravis

Katherine Farley and Paula Zahn

Charles Bronfman and Rita Mayo

Sandy and Joan Weill

pat r i c k m c m u ll a n

Jill and Yo-Yo Ma

D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A rumors surface. But divorce today is more ordinary than ever and “scandal” is an antique word. Leaving one’s spouse has fallen into the wash-rinse-repeat process for an awful lot of us. Although the recent Bass divorce, on the other hand, was handled in a very civilized way by both parties.

The final announcement came in the local Fort Worth press and the spouses told their friends that they would remain friends, leaving the rumor department only with the guessing game of “How Much Did She Get.” But that is something we will never know, nor is it any of our business.

Although it is apparent—as it was when he divorced his

first wife Anne, mother of his children—that Sid Bass was very generous. That’s the measure of the man. He also provided a lesson that will surely go unheeded to all those matrimonial lawyers out there who encourage their clients to murder their spouses financially. Of course what’s worse than the lawyers are the clients who seem to have a taste for such blatant mental cruelty.

However... First “Diary.”

Southampton. Looking back on those times, the world seemed almost innocent compared to what we’re facing today. Although that can’t be possible considering what people were up to (and still are).

The other hot topic of

discussion in the first “Social Diary” was the burgeoning wealth that was creating the burgeoning real estate market.

That’s gone the way of all flesh too because real estate prices now are stratospheric compared to the days when “a million two” was considered a fabulously extravagant price for a nice weathered shingle mansion on Meadow Lane.

Fifty years ago when Josie Blair sold her rambling beachfront cottage a few doors down from the Bathing Corporation, the buyer paid $12,000—and that included everything in the house: all the furniture, the linens, an entirely equipped kitchen and dining room. In what used to be called move-in condition.

Literally. Today the price of

that house—which is still very much in use—would be a thousand times more.

Today’s installments reflect much more activity in social life than ever before. I’m sure if I were a fly on the wall at Swifty’s or Michael’s or Sette Mezzo, I’d get an earful of similar stories that are always the fodder of friends getting together talking about their New York lives. But in real terms, social activity today centers around projects that are often charitable, philanthropic and specific.The one common component is that opportunity for people in the big city to meet and communicate shared interests with each other.

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even for people who are actively social in New York.

By “actively social,” I simply mean people who get out and get involved with city life on a daily basis. For many, life becomes hyperactive with something going on every day and every night. It’s awesome in retrospect, not to mention exhausting at times, but it is the nature of New York life in this the beginning of the second decade of a new century.

For example, a few days out of the life of this reporter: two or three times a week I go to lunch at Michael’s. I use the time there to interview people, get together with friends I rarely see, and take in the high 26 QUEST

Kathie Moore

Inmaculada de Hadsburgo and Santiago Saavedra

energy of the passing parade that in a restaurant where so many New York media, banking, advertising, social, and entertainment people meet.

On Wednesday, October 5, The Michael’s Lunch. They were packing them in with a lot of the likely suspects and some newer faces too. Such as Chris March, the designer who was a finalist on Project Runway and now has a show of his own, Mad Fashion. At his table: Jennifer Geisser, senior veep of communications at Bravo TV and publicist Alana McElroy.

Around the room: Peter Brown with Judith Miller;

Christopher Getty and Bianca Pratt

Frigo Ramirez de Haro and Oscar de la Renta

Joe Armstrong with Paul Beirne. Tracey Jackson author and blogger; Harold Ford, former congressman now vice chair of Merrill Lynch with Robert Zimmerman, political public relations consultant and TV commentator and Susie Essman of Curb Your Enthusiasm. What were they discussing? I don’t know; maybe a future on-camera career for the man from Merill Lynch?

Elsewhere, John Sykes, television executive with Michael Bloom. Suzanne (Mrs. Woody) Johnson with Muffie Potter Aston, one of the most philanthropically active and social women in New York, married to Dr.

George Moore, Liliana Godia and Frank Lorenzo

Sherrell Aston, one of the top cosmetic surgeons in New York. This was Mrs. Aston’s second day in a row at Michael’s. My lunch guest, producer Mark Freden, an old friend in from Los Angeles, recognized her from our party pictures, and was as excited to see her “in person” as if she were one of the TV celebrities he deals with in Hollywood.

Continuing around the room: Barbara Walters was lunching with Marie Josee (Mrs. Henry) Kravis. At another table Chris Meigher, publisher of this magazine was lunching with an associate.

Nearby was Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance;

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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A Joe Kernen of Squawk Box with Marc Lasry; Kate White of Cosmooikutab with Pamela Fiori, the recently retired editor of Town & Country and John O’Keefe. Gerry Byrne with Scott Higgins, Walter Sabo; Judy Licht; David Sanford of the Wall Stree Journal, and Lewis Stein; Martin Puris; hotelier Jason Pomeranc; Tammy Haddad in from Washington; Susie Arons, Steve Mosko; Martin Sandler and Jimmy Finkelstein; Paul Caine, and on and on.

That same night: all kinds of stuff. At 6 p.m. at the Animal Medical Center, Robert Liberman and Katherine Coyne, CEO of the AMC, hosted a ribbon cutting and

dedication of the AMC’s new Katherine and William Rayner Interventional Radiology & Endoscopy Suite, known as a hybrid operating suite. This was a big deal, and the first of its kind in a veterinary hospital.

It is the creation of a husband and wife team, doctors Chick Weisse and Allyson Berent.

Just up the block at 306 East 61st Street, John Rosselli was hosting a book signing for interior designer Jeffrey Bilhuber and his new book, The Way Home; Reflections on American Beauty at the Rosselli shop at 306 East 61st Street.

Big crowd. John wasn’t there because he was home with one of their dogs who is 18 and had a seizure a couple of

nights ago, so his wife Bunny Williams stood in for him.

Bunny and John have lots of dogs and they are all rescued, all sorts and great friends.

From there I went up to Hilary and Joe Califano’s apartment on Park Avenue— another book signing for Hilary’s son Frick Byers who has just published a limited edition of Tennis Courts. Frick traveled all over America to get these shots of well-trammeled tennis courts. Big crowd there too.

Downtown Edwina Sandys and Richard Kaplan were hosting a book signing and reception in celebration of Edwina’s new book, Edwina Sandys Art, with text by

Caroline Seebohm, foreward

by Anthony Haden-Guest, and introduction by Sir Roland Penrose (published

by Glitterati Incorporated).

Edwina is a granddaughter of Sir Winston Churchill.

Both Mr. and Mrs. like a jolly good time and are hosts for fun, although Edwina is a dedicated and serious artist and her husband is a serious supporter of his wife’s work.

Big crowd there too.

And then, that same night there were the biggies, the fundraising galas. The Whitney’s annual this year was so big that they had to take one of the great rooms down on the Chelsea Piers. This is a very important dinner.

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The Whitney wears two hats: maverick and establishment.

It’s a tight line to navigate but these are changing times and the Whitney has a good navigator and a huge support system that is articulated by the size of this gala and the individuals they attract.

Meanwhile, over at the splendid Carnegie Hall, they were holding their opening night gala, with a continuing celebration of the house’s 120th anniversary.

The concert, which began at 7 p.m., featured the great Valery Gergiev conducting the Mariinsky Orchestra performing an all Russian program.

Shostakovich, 30 QUEST

Lauri Catena, Kristie Porcaro and Alexandra Vickers

Christina Makowsky and Natasha Makowsky

Rimsky-Korsakov, and Tchaikovsky. Yo-Yo Ma, guest soloist. Afterwards, the glittering crowd moved over to the Waldorf for dinner in the Grand Ballroom. The evening co-chairs were Mercedes and Sid Bass (their divorce announcement would be made the following week), Yoko Nagae Ceschina, Frederick Iseman, Marie-Josee and Henry Kravis, Katherine Farley and Jerry I. Speyer of Tishman Speyer, Joan and Sanford I. Weill, and Ann Ziff.

I finished that evening dining at the table of Billy and Kathy Rayner who hosted a dinner at their house to mark

the day and to celebrate the doctors who first demonstrated their creation at Penn. It was there that the idea was hatched to bring it to New York, and the Rayners sponsored it. The couple met at Penn.

I had the good luck to be seated next to one of the doctors, Dr. Berent. She told me she had wanted to be a vet since she was eight years old.

Her husband, she told me, “found” it serendipitously after beginning his studies at LSE and other financial institutes of learning. He went so far as to get into the business of money. However, he quickly developed an aversion to the pursuit, and

Kathy Van Zeeland and Bruce Makowsky

happened to volunteer in a veterinary clinic and his future appeared before him. The two share this enthusiasm for what they do and what they believe they can do in the future. It’s contagious.

On the following day, Thursday, October 7th was the Park Avenue Armory Gala. This is Elihu Rose’s production.

I know it’s the production of many but Mr. Rose who is known affectionately as Ellie to his many friends and acquaintances, is the man behind it the massive restoration, renovation, and refurbishment of the great red brick building that has occupied the block between

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Norka Saad, Alex Synder, Jonathan Cameron-Hayes and Whitney Baldwin

Park and Lexington Avenues and 66th and 67th streets, for the past 150 years. There was another man behind the restoration also—Wade Thompson, who shared the same vision. Thompson was an enormous influence on the project. He had lived near the Armory most of his adult life. He watched it deteriorate from the windows of his apartment over time.

In addition to his time and devotion to the project, he personally gave $35 million to restore it. Unfortunately, he died a couple of years ago, and missed the final polishing of the treasure he admired for so long.

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Whitney Tower and Lucy Webster

Built in 1861, in the time of President Abraham Lincoln, by a group of wealthy New Yorkers who were part of the National Guard during the Civil War, it was known at the 7th Regiment Armory.

I don’t know if there were even railroad tracks on Park Avenue, let alone below back then. The Lenox Farm still existed and covered most of the surrounding neighborhood (the Frick, today stands on its westernmost boundary).

Central Park, was then referred to as “the Central Park” was stillonly the dream of some of our city fathers, beginning to work its way up from 59th Street and what

Tom Pilecki, Jennifer Garrigues and Daniel Bottero

Brad and Pam Miller

became Central Park South.

The original 7th Regiment built it as a drill hall but also a grand clubhouse, and for most of its history, that’s what it was.

In time, Louis Comfort Tiffany created some of the meeting rooms and club room. So did Stanford White. And several others of the top designers and architects of the day.

Robin Pogrebin wrote a piece about its restoration by the architects involved in the restoration and their plans, in the previous days’ New York Times. It’s a wonderful story about how New York continues to adapt to the changing world and still protect the roots of the community. The facts

Jennifer and Mark McGreevy

fascinate: one of the rooms that was restored required the use of 280,000 Q-tips, so delicate and complicated was the job of cleaning.

For years I’d been to the Park Avenue Armory and seen some of these rooms, run-down but still in place.

Everything was encrusted with dust and looked frail and antique. I never “got” the style of the late Victorian era so it didn’t matter to me.

Today, it’s spit-shined and glistening. Things have been polished to their highest sheen, and all of it…is beautiful. And all of it gives you an intimate look into the sensibility of those who came before us—

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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A our great-grandfathers and great-great-grandfathers. And all of it will be at your disposal at one time and in one way or another when you visit the Park Avenue Armory.

Last year, they held this benefit dinner in the Wade Thompson Drill Hall. At the time, the room had been set up for the carnival space that was being featured. On that night early last month, you walked into an enormous, cavernous room four-stories-high in its center, and dark, with columns of small spots lighting the way.

There was enough dusty light (in pale colors) to see everyone (but only close up) because of these columns of light. But it was still dark.

Except in the distance where, across the vast room, there were rows of small candles on long tables fanning out from a large stage set up with a grand piano and a podium.

Creative imagination was our host. There was that quality last year, but setting was elaborate (carnival). This year it was minimum with a touch of mystery (dark), a vibe.

So, it had a special charm.

The guests looked like people from the Upper East Side. Men in suits and ties, women dressed nicely but conservatively for a comfortable dinner in a nice home. The conventional, more than the artistic (in terms of the way the crowd looks).

There were a lot of artists there too, among the several hundred guests: David Byrne, as well as Philip Glass who was being honored and who performed. On the screen above the stage were beautiful photographs of the rooms that have been restored as well as pictures of rooms in restoration.

Once guests were seated there were brief speeches.

Ellie Rose introduced two of the honorees, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron and Ascan Mergenthaler (all from Herzog & de Meuron), who were presented with a framed design from one of the rooms.

We were then serenaded by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus

(directed by Dianne Berkun) who sang Ad Amore (composed

by Lee Kesselman) a capella.

Really excellent. Then they moved to the stage and sang, “Short Prayers In Respect of a Storm” (composed by Nico Muhly).

Then a man named Hal Willner took the podium.

Mr. Willner is a music producer—rock, jazz, Tin Pan Alley. He was once the music supervisor for Saturday Night Live. He kinda looks SNL. He’s funny too. Wry, ironic.

He told us about Philip Glass whom he first saw and heard unexpectedly when he was in his teens. And “now he’s so famous” that people even refer to certain music composition

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Ginny Beyrer, Dennis Basso and Ines Basso Glick 34 QUEST

A couple of looks

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Amy Fine Collins, Grace Meigher, Nina Griscom and Joanne Di Guardiola

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as “Philip Glass-like.”

Philip Glass, Willner told us, just loves to compose. He’s always happy when he has to write something. And then he introduced the man.

I’d heard his music but had never seen him in person, or heard his voice. It’s a soft, mellow voice. Gentle. It’s unobtrusive and unassuming but like the man’s music, you like the sound of it. He’s a very appealing person when he speaks. That intangible artist’s state of mind that musicians often possess.

He then sat down to play Metamorphoses—Nos. 2 and 4.

Wonderful, and a privilege to hear played by the composer.

36 QUEST

AndrewAndrew with Stacy Engman

The vision that Rose and Thompson and their friends and supporters had for the Armory, was to take this relic of a monument and turn it into a space for art, performance, theater, as a cultural center in a restored building from early New York. The idea was hatched years ago. They finally got a 99-year lease from the State of New York. The restoration is ongoing, but the dream been granted: the Park Avenue Armory is becoming a force, a destination for the arts in New York. And a unique one.

On this night we also learned that the Drill Hall was also originally used for marching

Hunt Slonem and Amy Hoadley

Danielle Smit and PJ Pascual

bands to practice and perform.

John Philip Sousa, the greatest marching band conductor of them all, performed there. He even wrote a march in the 7th Regiment’s honor. After Philip Glass performed and got a standing ovation, Ellie Rose presented him with an original copy of Sousa’s composition.

The menu: First Course: Red and Gold Beet Napoleon toasted walnut, mission fig, goat cheese, Sherry Vinegar and Walnut oil dressing. Entrée: Navarin of Lamb. Black truffle, Parsnip, Mushrooms, Haricots Verts, Potato Gnocchi. Dessert: Rustic Apple Crostada, cranberry caramel, cinnamon ice cream.

Grace Potter

Stephen Schwarzman

They raised more than $2 million for the ongoing resurrection of a New York landmark. There was something very special about the event. It was celebratory.

There was a kind of Zen feel to the huge dinner party. I think the Park Avenue Armory has taken on the Zeitgeist of the 21st century. If that sounds a little dreamy, well, so was last night, A good one.

Another week, another typical night in New York: Last night’s lineup was long. Over at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the New York Stem Cell Foundation hosted its 6th annual Gala and Science Fair honoring Christo with the

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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A NYSCF Humanitarian Award.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented the award to the artist. They also honored Julian H. Robertson, Jr., the investment adviser and hedge fund whiz (Tiger Management) and philanthropist (the plaza at Lincoln Center is named in his late wife Josie’s honor).

Mr. Robertson was given the NYSCF Leadership Award, which was presented by Joel L. Fleishman. There was also the presentation of the inaugural NYSCF Robertson Stem Cell Prize.

In those last few sentences I have laid out a clear diagram of how philanthropy and fundraising operate successfully in New York in the 21st century.

This particular foundation is the creation of Susan Solomon and Dr. Roy Geronemus, CEO and chairman, respectively.

They are but part of a big team but they are the leadership, particularly in my experience, Ms. Solomon. She has put their project on the map. And they are making a difference the potential of which cannot yet even be measured.

Also last night, over at Roberto Cavalli’s store on 63rd and Madison, the gang who are putting together this year’s Casita Maria Fiesta 2011—Jackie Weld Drake, John Bernbach, Mario YouKnow-Who, Kalliope Karella, Christine Schwarzman and the Casita Maria Fiesta and

Pachanga committees. Mr. Cavalli was hosting and also celebrating the reopening of his New York store. Another part of the aforementioned diagram.

In another part of the same forest, over at 232 East 59th Street, there was a preview of the Todd Alexander Romano Tastemaker Tag Sale, and celebrating the Society of Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Center’s 23rd annual preview party for the International Fine Art and Antique Dealers Show. They were having their very own TARTTS and 10 percent of sales was donated by Mr. R to the SMSKCC. Another part of the aforementioned diagram.

Onward. Up at the Metropolitan Museum, Iris Cantor and Thomas Campbell, the director of the Museum, hosted a preview and reception for the opening of a new exhibition “Stieglitz and His Artists: Matisse to O’Keeffe” in the Tisch Galleries.

I stopped in because Mrs. Cantor is a friend and I know she appreciates her friends seeing what some of her philanthropy can do. I was also drawn by the invitation.

I wanted to have a look at the actual Charles Demuth oil on the cover.

I didn’t have time to see it all. It is not only a big installation, full of the works that the master photographer

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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A collected of other artists of his time, but as I quickly walked through the collection of his photographs—which are compellingly, haunting, evocative mystery and poetry—along with the works of the artists such as Brancusi, Demutyh, Hartley, Kandinsky, Picasso, Matisse, O’Keeffe—many of whom debuted in America in his gallery at 291 Fifth Avenue (known as 291) and later; I found myself touched emotionally, as if about to choke up. Stieglitz is the professor here for historians, art and otherwise. This is a document of the beginning of what became known as “The American Century.” It has a

powerful subtext. It gets to you.

A day from another week.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011. A warm and sunny autumn day in New York. At noontime, I went over to the Mandarin Oriental where the Board of Directors of the Women’s Committee of the Central Park Conservancy hosted its annual Fall Luncheon. Marcia Mishaan was Chairman and Suzanne Johnson and Cynthia Lufkin were co-chairs, and guest speaker was Bette Midler.

I’m a Bette Midler fan and have always been since her first album came out way back when. I think it was called The Divine Miss M with beautiful

cover portrait by the late great illustrator and graphic designer Richard Amsel that is now a classic She came on the scene in the late 1960s, first famous in an “underground” (or below the first floor) way giving performances at a gay bathhouse in the Ansonia Hotel on Broadway and 73rd Street where she was nothing short of a sensation. The location itself was pretty wild for a concert in those days.

Her accompanist was even more unknown than she— guy named Barry Manilow.

Stardom soon followed and then a movie career and the rest is history.

Bette Midler at the podium

of the Mandarin Oriental, is now not only a star of movies, TV and Las Vegas, but a major philanthropic force in New York with her New York Restoration Project. The NYRP’s major fund-raiser was just ten days away and it would turn out to be a big wild, wonderful, fun party just like you might imagine the Divine Miss M might host, and with the great Stevie Wonder entertaining the guests for more than an hour of concert.

I’ve seen the lady around town occasionally at restaurants and events, although I don’t know her. So it was interesting to see her in action speaking on the philanthropy circuit.

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green form fitting wool dress wearing what looked like jade earrings to match, and slender high dark brown suede boots that seem to be all the rage these days, all these years later she looks like a very chic New Yorker, not unlike a lot of the ladies at the luncheon.

Usually the format at this particular lunch is an interview (I did it as guest speaker a few years ago—last year it was Candice Bergen), Ms. Midler elected to speak at the podium.

She told us about her childhood growing up in Hawaii which she described as a most beautiful place where a lot of the Japanese inhabitants had the most beautifully maintained gardens and houses. A paradise. Since it was all she knew growing up, for a long time, she thought the entire planet was like that.

When she came to New York to start her

Rich Sommer

career, she saw otherwise.

That childhood experience stayed with the lady. In the ’80s when she lived in Los Angeles and would drive her daughter to school, she was amazed at the lack of maintenance and carelessness about the city. She was moved to get involved with a group of people out there who called themselves the Los Angeles Restoration Project, volunteering to clean up areas, planting trees and gardens. It was very satisfying.

When she returned to New York to live full time in 1994, she was amazed to see that it was even worse here. So she started the New York Restoration Project firstly in Washington Heights, organizing people to go into abandoned rundown areas of land and simply clean them out. Her inspiration, she told yesterday’s luncheon guests was Central Park as restored by the

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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A Conservancy.

This project took wing and with her and her volunteers hard work, it spread all over the city, planting gardens, restoring parks and pockets of parks. Midler delivers all of her words with those charming side comments that are her trademark although yesterday in describing the progress the NYRP has made, there was a moment when she hesitated, lost for words and unable to speak. Choking up a bit, she explained that the beauty that the NYRP volunteers had created out of the mess they first encountered sometimes just overwhelms her even now just to think of it. Her memory of “the whole world was like” Hawaii was realized right here in New York. It was a moving moment for everyone.

When she moved back here from L.A. and made it her home, and like her childhood neighbors, she has created beauty all around us. In her campaign to plant one million new trees in New York by 2017, she announced at this luncheon that that week they had planted their 500,000th tree! (The surprise snowstorm about a week and a half later devastated a lot of trees in New York and Central Park lost more than 1000 trees – so Bette’s work is never done.)

It was a great day at the Mandarin. More than 400 people attended and $150,000 was raised for the Conservancy.

Van Cleef and Arpels sponsored the luncheon.

That same night in New York there was of course lots more going on. Down at

the Cipriani 42nd Street, the Americans for the Arts held its National Arts Awards honoring Frank Stella, Jenny Holzer, Beverley Taylor Sorenson, Gabourey Sidibe, Sol LeWitt, Wells Fargo & Company and the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

Maria Bell chaired the evening with Edythe and Eli Broad and Isabella and Theodor Dalenson as co-chairs.

While over at the Frick Collection the Board of Trustees held their annual Autumn Dinner (black tie) where they honored Anne Poulet, Director Emerita who retired as Director of the Frick Collection last month after eight years as Director.

During the dinner, the Frick chairman Margot Bogert spoke and introduced the new

director Ian Wardropper who presented Ms. Poulet with a gift commemorating her tenure and achievements for the Frick.

Dinner was served in three of the Collection’s magnificent dramatically lit galleries where guests were surrounded by the works of Rembrandt, Vermeer, Veronese, Turner,Van Dyck, Renoir, Goya, El Greco, Manet. The benefit chairs were Elizabeth Eveillard and JeanMarie Eveillard, Barbara and James Reibel MD, and Aso O. Tavitian. Benefactors of the evening were Mr and Mrs. Franklin. W. Hobbs. Patrons were John and Constance Birkelund, BNY Mellon, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Eberstadt, Mrs. Henry Clay Frick II, the Samuel Kress Foundation and Wildenstein & Company. u

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Gloria Sidnam and Ada Zambetti 44 QUEST

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In-town renovated 4br/3.5ba charming Maurice Fatio home with fireplace, French doors, guest house, and pool situated on a rarely available south exposure double lot. $2,795,000

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In town 3 br/3.5 bath with old world elegance featuring fireplace, hard wood floors, Juliet balconies, pecky ceilings, guest house, garage, lovely pool, and magical gardens. $1,995,000

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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 i l v e r h i l l h o s p i t a l g a l a k i c k - o ff

Dr. Sigurd Ackerman and Dr. Cecelia McCarton

Mark Locks and Francine LeFrak

Janine and Lawrence Haynes with Missy Fallon 46 QUEST

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Ceci Cleary with Ward and Marcia Cleary

Nancy Tauck and John Pribesh

Christian Leone with Marcy and Michael Warren

pat r i c k m c m u ll a n

Michael Cominotto and Shafi Roepers

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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A a r t fo r a f r i c a ’ s g a l a at s ot h e by ’ s

Paulo Oliveira and Diandra Douglas

Mary and Anthony Kennedy

Steven and Michele Pesner and Karl Krieger 48 QUEST

Christina Cuomo

Tiffany Dubin and Archie Panjabi

Krista Krieger and Frances Schultz

Robert Jaffe and Natasha Silver

Pierre DuPont, Sarah Imberg and Ted Henderson

Nicole Mellon and Elizabeth Meigher

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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A t h e b l e n h e i m fo u n d at i o n ’ s d i n n e r at s ot h e by ’ s

Freddy and Virginia Melhado

Mike Meehan and Dee deGanay 50 QUEST

Barbara Bancroft and Margo Langenberg

Peter Lyden

Jackie Weld Drake, David Parick Columbia and Lady Henrietta Spencer-Churchill

Reinaldo Herrera, Blaine Trump and Steve Simon

Joel and Robin Kassimir

Carl and Kari Tiedemann with David Koch

pat r i c k m c m u ll a n

Wilbur and Hilary Geary Ross with the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough

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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A W a l ly F i n d l a y G a l l e r i e s p r e s e n t e d a c o l l e c t i o n b y G u s ta v o N o v o a to b e n e f i t Pa n t h e r a a n d t h e Pa l m B e ac h Zo o

Dabney Mercer, Dale Mercer and Tinsley Mortimer

Donna Ross and Brian Gaisford

Thomas McCarter and Frances Scaife

Joe Ingersoll, Terry Maple and James Borynack

Amelia Osborne, Stephanie Clark and Chris Breck 52 QUEST

Lori Silverstein and Gene Norden

Emily Weinman and Niko Hrdy

Tori Vought, Adolfo Zaralegui and Wendell Collins

Andrea Heydlauff and Fred Clark

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Valerie Rooks and Larry Kaiser

D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A Sto r m k i n g a r t c e n t e r ’ s g a l a at c h r i st i e ’ s

Herbert Kayden, Eleanor Killian and Mark Di Suvero

Stella Sichel and Christine Aaron 54 QUEST

Andrew Sheinman, Pia Catton and Ralph Gardner, Jr.

Kate Levin, Ronay and Richard Menschel and Candida Smith

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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A the societ y of memorial sloan-kettering cancer center hosted t h e i n t e r n at i o n a l f i n e a r t a n d a n t i q u e d e a l e r s s h o w

Matthew and Diane Kelly

Liz Gardiner

Betty Sherrill and Armene Milliken

Neil Fox and Martha Kramer

Stephanie Krieger and Brian Stuart 56 QUEST

Noreen Buckfire, Daisy Soros and Melinda Blinken

Clelia and Tom Zacharias

Sabrina Forsythe and Edward Smith

Bunny Williams and John Rosselli

Betsy Bartlett and Jones Yorke

Gianluigi and Adrienne Vittadini

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Eleanora and Michael Kennedy

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D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A o p r a h w i n f r e y h o st e d a n e v e n i n g w i t h r a l p h l au r e n at l i n c o l n c e n t e r

Manuel Bellod and Lee Radziwill

David Lauren, Dylan Lauren and Andrew Lauren 58 QUEST

Betty Ann Gwathmey and Ira Krebs

Naomi Watts

Alina Cho, Barbara Walters, Peter Brown and Princess Firyal of Jordan

Deborah Roberts

Cash Warren and Jessica Alba

pat r i c k m c m u ll a n

Ralph and Ricky Lauren

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Barbara Bancroft and Wendy Vanderbilt Lehman

Martha Glass and Cornelia Bregman

Carol Mack and Kate Gubelmann

Hilary Geary Ross and Fawaz Gruosi 60 QUEST

Grace Meigher and Fawaz Gruosi

Peggy Mejia and Susan Warner

Mariana Kaufman, Karen LeFrak and Lis Waterman

Claudia Overstrom, Anne Easton, Chiu-Ti Jansen and Denise De Luca

Jean Shafiroff and Sharon Bush

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Christian Keese, Konrad Keesee, Irene Aitken and Colin Bailey

Alexis Kugel with Janice and Tomilson Hill

Fritz and Linda Hobbs with Susan and Franรงois de Saint Phalle

Gillian Hearst and Christian Simonds 62 QUEST

Gwynne Tibbetts with Daniel and Olivia Gerard

Elizabeth Eveillard, Aso Tavitian and Anne Poulet with Barbara and James Reibel

Ian Wardropper and Margot Bogert

Susan and Henry Johnson

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Todd Alexander Romano and Mario Buatta

Fernanda Kellogg and Kirk Henckels

Annette Rickel and Michel Witmer

Chris Spitzmiller, Stephanie Loeffler and Leslie Heaney

Gillian and Sylvester Miniter

Dara O’Hara and Chiara Edmands

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Marcela Bombieri and Lily Safra 64 QUEST

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Helen Lehman Lash and Giosetta Capriati

Juan Esteban Ganoza, Suzanne Kohlberg, and Paul Beirne

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CALENDAR

NOVEMBER

On November 10, the Museum Gala will take place at the American Museum of Natural History. The evening will begin in the Theodore Roosevelt Rotunda and proceed in the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life. Proceeds will suport programming at the museum. For more information, call 212.843.1714.

2

3

The New York Landmarks Conservancy will honor several New Yorkers for their contributions to the city at the Living Landmarks gala. For more information, call 212.995.5260.

The New York Blood Center will honor the New York City Fire Department and the New York City Police Department at its chairman’s dinner at 6:30 p.m. at Cipriani Wall Street. For more information, call 212.763.8599.

mark your calendar

blue blooded

full of grace

The Princess Grace Foundation will present 21 awards to performers at 6:30 p.m. at Cipriani 42nd Street. For more information, call 212.245.6570.

silver lining

Carrie Fisher will be honored at the second annual Silver Hill Hospital Gala, taking place at 7 p.m. at Cipriani 42nd Street. For more information, call 212.843.1741.

kids of america

The Children’s Museum of the Arts will host its annual art auction at 7 p.m. at 82 Mercer Street. For more information, call 212.274.0986.

66 QUEST

grand slam

The Fountain House Fall Fête will start with cocktails at 6:30 p.m. at Soigne K, followed by dinner at 8:30 p.m. at the Racquet and Tennis

Club. For more information, call 212.874.5457.

4

olé, olé, olé!

Casita Maria’s annual “Fiesta!” will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. For more information, call 212.206.7447.

6

Theater” at 7 p.m. at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. For more information, call 212.879.7400.

9

go down in history

The New York Historical Society’s “History Makers” ball will take place at 170 Central Park West.

For more information, call 212.873.3400.

“piering” in

The Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center will celebrate its 86th anniversary at 6:30 p.m. at Pier 60 at Chelsea Piers. For more information, call 718.604.5479.

girl for all seasons

7

10

The Carter Burden Center for the Aging will host “A Salute to

The American Museum of Natural History’s Museum Gala will begin

of a certain age

The “Love Heals” gala will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Four Seasons Restaurant. For more information, call 212.867.1117.

natural selection

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CALENDAR

NOVEMBER

26

life imitating art

“Mark Twain’s New York,” a walking tour, will begin at 1 p.m. at 500 Broadway. For more information, call 917.620.5371.

30

a super event

The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation’s “A Magical Evening” will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. For more information, call 212.763.8594.

DECEMBER 4

christmas lights

On November 9, the “History Makers” ball will take place at the New York Historical Society. Artwork such as “Bulls and Bears in Market” will be featured in the space, which was recently renovated to include the Dimenna Children’s History Museum and the new Smith Gallery and Smith Auditorium. For more information, call 212.873.3400.

The Fund for Park Avenue will host its tree lighting at 6:30 p.m. outside of the Brick Presbyterian Church. The tradition began in 1945 to honor the men and women who died in World War II. For more information, call 212.705.4273. miracle on ice

at 7 p.m. For more information, call 212.769.5166. kidding around

The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children’s “Protecting Kids First!” gala will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Plaza Hotel. For more information, call 212.843.1714. party in the park

The Central Park Conservancy will host “Autumn in Central Park” at 7 p.m. at Central Park West at 67th Street. For more information, call 212.310.6619.

11

“Carnaval at the Copa” will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Copacabana. For more information, call 800.457.6676.

Gurney at 7:30 p.m. at Carnegie Hall. For more information, call 212.903.9734.

Occupy wall street

a junior mint

Worldwide Orphans Foundation will host its seventh annual benefit gala at 6 p.m. at Cipriani Wall Street. For more information, call 973.763.9961.

16

to be associated with

The Society of Memorial SloanKettering Cancer Center’s annual associates committee event will take place at 7 p.m. at the Four Seasons Restaurant. For more information, call 212.639.7929.

The Preppy American Birthday Brunch will celebrate Lilly Pulitzer Rousseau’s 80th birthday at 11:45 a.m. in Florida. For more information, call 561.243.2662.

14

at the copa, copacabana

The Parkinson’s Disease Foundation’s 68 QUEST

7

have a ball

The Asia Society will hold an awards dinner at the Waldorf=Astoria. For more information, call 212.327.9235.

The French Heritage Society’s dinner dance will take place at the Metropolitan Club. For more information, call 212.759.6846.

The New England Society’s 206th annual dinner dance will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Metropolitan Club. For more information, call 212.752.1938.

life’s a beach

The New York Junior League’s 13th annual auction will take place at 6:30 p.m. at Hudson Terrace announcing the outstandng sustainers and volunteers. For more information, call 212.228.6220.

pardon my french

very metropolitan

12

18

The Children’s Aid Society’s “Miracle on Madison Avenue” will bring together galleries, restaurants, and retailers to support children in need. For more information, call 212.901.1958.

17

sing along

Sing for Hope’s gala will take place at 6:30 p.m. at 583 Park Avenue. For more information, call 212.966.5955. an evening of note

The Carnegie Hall Notables will present Love Letters by A. R.

On November 16, the French Heritage Society will honor the Royal Families of Fontainebleau with an event at the Metropolitan Club, marking the 29th year of the organization. For more information, call 212.759.6846.

ROBERTA.McCAFFREYREALTY ROBERTA.McCAFFREYREALTY Garrison • Cold Spring, NY • 60 Mins NYC Westchester,Putnam,DutchessMLS Garrison • Cold Spring, NY • 60 Mins NYC Westchester,Putnam,DutchessMLS

GARRISON, NY - Enjoy the ultimate in condo living in THE CASTLE, a well-known landmark high above the Hudson River. This luxurious 2 floor, 2 bedroom unit offers breathGARRISON, NY - Enjoy the ultimate in condo living in THE CASTLE, a well-known taking views from Bear Mountain Bridge to Newburgh Bay. It has huge open rooms, 12 to 15 landmark high above the Hudson River. This luxurious 2 floor, 2 bedroom unit offers breathfoot ceilings, 4 fireplaces, gourmet kitchen, and sumptuous baths. It also offers outdoor spaces, taking views from Bear Mountain Bridge to Newburgh Bay. It has huge open rooms, 12 to 15 central air conditioning, and garaging for 2 cars. Offered at $2,999,999 foot ceilings, 4 fireplaces, gourmet kitchen, and sumptuous baths. It also offers outdoor spaces, central air conditioning, and garaging for 2 cars. Offered at $2,999,999

143MainStreet,ColdSpring,NY10516 143MainStreet,ColdSpring,NY10516 Tel:845.265.4113•www.mccaffreyrealty.com Tel:845.265.4113•www.mccaffreyrealty.com info@mccaffreyrealty.com info@mccaffreyrealty.com

EAST FISHKILL, Dutchess County, NY - Wiccopee House. Circa 1894, this beautiful estate on 17.6 acres, includes the 7000 square foot Georgian style main house featuring EAST FISHKILL, Dutchess County, NY - Wiccopee House. Circa 1894, this beau6 bedrooms, gleaming wood floors, multiple fireplaces, period details and a gourmet tiful estate on 17.6 acres, includes the 7000 square foot Georgian style main house featuring kitchen. Additional features include a 100’ x 30’ barn with a 2 bedroom apartment, pad6 bedrooms, gleaming wood floors, multiple fireplaces, period details and a gourmet dock, pool, and tennis court. Offered at $2,495,000 kitchen. Additional features include a 100’ x 30’ barn with a 2 bedroom apartment, paddock, pool, and tennis court. Offered at $2,495,000

Balmville, NY Enjoy glorious views of the Hudson River and Storm King Mountain from this gracious center hall colonial, which combines brick with cedar shingle siding. Fireplaces warm the living room and the family room, a formal dining room provides space for dinner parties, and 4 bedrooms offer room for family and guests. A four-season sunroom, porches and patios, and an in-ground pool provide places to relax and enjoy the private 15 acre property which, with frontage on two roads, can be subdivided. House also available on 3 acres for $699,000. Offered at $1,500,000.

GARRISON, NY - Spacious and open country home with fabulous HUDSON RIVER VIEWS to the west and north to Storm King Mt and Newburgh Bay. The living room features GARRISON, NY - Spacious and open country home with fabulous HUDSON RIVER cathedral ceiling and stone fireplace, and all living areas enjoy the views and access to stone terVIEWS to the west and north to Storm King Mt and Newburgh Bay. The living room features races. 4 bedrooms and 2 ½ baths, includes huge master suite privately located on its own level. cathedral ceiling and stone fireplace, and all living areas enjoy the views and access to stone terThe in-ground pool and cabana further enhance the 5.6 acre property. Offered at $1,995,000 races. 4 bedrooms and 2 ½ baths, includes huge master suite privately located on its own level.

The in-ground pool and cabana further enhance the 5.6 acre property. Offered at $1,995,000

COLD SPRING, NY - Masterfully designed contemporary offers massive two story entry, living room and dining room sharing a grand floor to ceiling stone fireplace, large COLD SPRING, NY - Masterfully designed contemporary offers massive two story chef’s kitchen and 4 bedrooms. Walls of French doors lead to deck cantilevered over rushentry, living room and dining room sharing a grand floor to ceiling stone fireplace, large ing mountain stream. Delightful details and high quality materials are evident throughout chef’s kitchen and 4 bedrooms. Walls of French doors lead to deck cantilevered over rushthe home which is sited on almost 5 acres. Offered at $1,875,000 ing mountain stream. Delightful details and high quality materials are evident throughout the home which is sited on almost 5 acres. Offered at $1,875,000

Cornwall, NY

Putnam Valley, NYand - Lovely country on almost 5 acres.

This C. 1935provides home offers Realize yourNY dream with this almost 13 acre offering main house, guest cottage pond withretreat fountain.

The main house 3 GARRISON, - Courtside . This rustic stone barn,compound whose distinctive architecture 4356 square feet, 5 bedrooms, 4 ½ baths, 2 working fireplaces, hardwood floors, and numerous sets it apart from the ordinary, has been converted into 10,000 square feet ofOpen luxurious Putnam Valley, NY - Lovely country fireplace, retreat on almost 5 acres.

This C. 1935 home offers bedrooms and baths with mother/daughter possibilities. floor plan, 2 kitchens, a wood burning ample closets, 5 new air conGARRISON, NY3 -½ Courtside . This rustic stone barn, whose distinctive architecture window seats, nooks and crannies for added character. The glorious backyard features an inliving space. The home features large public rooms, country kitchen, 7-8 bedrooms and 4356 square feet, 5 bedrooms, 4 ½ baths, 2 working fireplaces, hardwood floors, and numerous sets it apart“splits” from the ordinary, has been convertedall into 10,000 squareAfeet of luxurious ground pool with spa and sizeable and patio a forfull house generator add appeal. separate guest house, with kitchenette andbarbeque bath, could bearea. usedThe forproperty guestsalso or includes recreation. aditioning separate 2 bedroomand apartment.

The beautifully landscaped 4 acre property also offers window seats, nooks and crannies for added character. The glorious backyard features an inliving space. The home features large public rooms, country kitchen, 7-8 bedrooms and mer dairy barn and pond. Offered at $1,300,000 aOffering tennis court and gunite pool.

Offered at $1,650,000 ground pool with spashops and sizeable barbeque and area. TheOffered property also includes a forconvenience, this home is located minutes from the restaurants, and galleries in patio the village. at $795,000. a separate privacy 2 bedroomand apartment.

The beautifully landscaped 4 acre just property also offers mer dairy barn and pond. Offered at $1,300,000 a tennis court and gunite pool. Offered at $1,650,000

Member of Westchester/Putnam, MLS • Mid-Hudson MLS (Dutchess County) Greater Hudson Valley MLS • (Orange, Rockland, Ulster, Sullivan Counties) Member of Westchester/Putnam, MLSand • Mid-Hudson MLSmany (Dutchess County) Greaterand Hudson • (Orange, Ulster, Sullivan Counties) For more information on these other listings, with full brochures floor Valley plans, MLS visit our website:Rockland, www.mccaffreyrealty.com For more information on these and other listings, many with full brochures and floor plans, visit our website: www.mccaffreyrealty.com

IT SEEMS LIKE YESTERDAY 70 QUEST

president nixon was speaking at the

Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, at the invitation of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. Behind him loomed the massive Marc Chagall mural “Moses and the Ten Commandments,�and, sure enough,

H A RRY B E N S ON

Nixon sat in the perfect spot—right in the center of the dais with Moses looking down on him. What struck me first of all were the hands and, as the photo here shows, Nixon’s hands mimicked the hands from the painting. Of course this

was unintentional, but serendipitous.

It was a very festive state dinner honoring the president because he had been told repeatedly, not only by Prime Minister Golda Meir, but also by others in the Israeli cabinet, that he was the best

American president Israel could ever have expected. When he left the Knesset that evening he was happy, and it showed.

There wouldn’t be many more happy times for Nixon after that dinner. Watergate was looming in the background and would quickly approach the forefront of American politics in the coming years.

I am fortunate to have photographed every United States president since Eisenhower, but Nixon was the one with whom I spent the most time and the one I found to be the most “presidential.”

Covering the election for LIFE magazine, I accompanied him first on the campaign trail starting at a fund-raiser at the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel in 1967, then during his presidency, including trips to the Middle East and Russia, until his resignation in 1974. He even allowed me to photograph him at his home in San Clemente, Calif., shortly after his resignation, saying to me, “You must let professional people do their job.” I later photographed him in London and Paris.

I liked working with Nixon and his entire family. Nixon accomplished much during his time in office, and I am pleased to have been there to document what has proved to be a very important part of American history. u President Richard M. Nixon, Jerusalem, Israel, 1974.

NO V E M B E R 2 0 1 1 7 1

Ta k i

LOVE & MONEY

From left: The Duke and Duchess of Windsor (who married for love, not title); founder of the discipline of pyschoanalysis, Sigmund Freud.

An English proFESSOR made an

earth-shattering discovery about 10 years ago—that there is a strong link between having money fall upon you and being happy. No, he didn’t win a Nobel for it, nor for the conclusion to his finding, which was that money buys autonomy and independence. He should have won a prize for excessive stupidity instead, especially for his last neologism that, “to turn a really unhappy person into a very 72 QUEST

happy person using money alone would take about one million dollars.”

I ain’t so sure about the last one. I gave a member of my family much more than one million 20 years ago and the guy is still miserable and angry—mostly at yours truly. Sigmund Freud was on my side on money matters. He said that happiness is the adult fulfillment of childhood dreams, and children, according to “Siggy,” do not dream of money. Ergo, money does

not buy happiness. Gore Vidal is on record as saying that if the poor were ever to find out how much fun the rich really have, they would probably rise up and kill them all. My only contribution to wealth epigrams is the one I borrowed about those who marry for money—they earn every cent and then some. I do not include women in that, only men. Most women I know who married for moolah have led charmingly carefree lives, with

Ta k i lotsa staff to boss around, lotsa houses to receive grand people in, lotsa toys to fly and sail privately in, and lotsa, lotsa walkers to keep them company when the old boy is in a board meeting and they happen to be bored.

A new book out on Lily Safra confirms my point: this old bag struck it rich through marriages and sudden deaths.

She may look like a gilded lily nowadays, but looking at pictures of her youth, she looked far, far worse. How she did it, I dunno. All I know is that she came up from nowhere, married three rich men, two of whom dropped dead and left her all their money. One, Senor Greenberg, who changed his name to Monteverdi, died from a mysterious pistol shot in the head. The other, Safra the banker, died

known to sparkle. I don’t believe a word about the Duchess of Windsor and all the oriental tricks she used on the poor Duke (who was rumored to be hung like a ninemonth-old baby). Although an expert on going down, all she did to capture him was talk down to him. I haven’t enough space to list the great courtesans (’cause that’s what they really are) who nowadays pose as ladies of society, and then there’s also the monster by the name of libel that lurks over my shoulder as I write. Suffice to say that in my long life among the rich and infamous, the ratio of rich men landing glorified hookers is about fifty-fifty.

The trouble of having been around a long time is that one really does know most of the secrets. Since the ’60s there have been rumors about certain French

find some debs for them while a contract was being signed in the City of Light.

I went to Claude, dad was amazed, the contract was signed, and when my father returned to Athens he told my mother “the little one isn’t as big an idiot as he acts, he has beautiful and very willing young friends.”)

My great buddy Porfirio Rubirosa (unlike the Windsor man, hung like a mule) at least married rich women: three of them took their money and divorced him, and then married beautiful but impoverished youngsters. He was a marital Robin Hood, or so I like to think.

That ghastly Roussell fellow, who took Christina Onassis’s millions, is an exception where earning one’s ill-gotten gains is concerned. He mistreated the poor

From left: Gore Vidal had something to say about love and money; famous French prostitute Alice Marot; ladies’ man Porfirio Rubirosa.

from an equally mysterious fire in his Monte Carlo office. Trophy wives are now a cliché, proof that men are insecure and prefer taut skin to stretched. Except for poor Sid Bass, who paid $200 million for a used Mercedes, and now will probably have to pay another $500 million for a very old and beaten up Mercedes. I take a back seat to no one where a beautiful young girl is concerned and where pleasure in bed is concerned, veterans are

society ladies who used to work for the most famous madam of all time: Claude.

I hate to disappoint my gossip column buddies, but I knew every single Madame Claude girl and not one made the bigtime except a pair I introduced to two Indonesian generals who represented Pertamina (the oil company) back in 1965, and chose to leave Paris and go back with them. (Old dad was doing business with Pertamina and had asked me to

little rich girl something awful, and now lives in Switzerland enjoying moolah that should never have gone to him. Many of the men I’ve known who married for money were or are gay. Before all these drugs came along, I was too reluctant to ask them how they managed to fullfill their conjugal duties, but now the question is academic. VV, as in Viva Viagra, should be the crest gays who married rich women have embossed in their rings. u NO V E M B E R 2 0 1 1 7 3

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

november marks our annual Entertaining Issue, which means we’ve scoured the shops and strolled the avenues to find the perfect fits for your entertaining needs. From invitations and place cards to stemware and bar carts, we’ll help set you up for stylish entertaining. Need a gift for the host and hostess? We’ve covered that, too (a silver wine holder from Tiffany & Co., or Daniel Boulud’s latest cocktail books, perhaps?). Of course, good entertaining entails dressing your best, so don’t forget to Block autumn rays with CHANEL’s add some fur and baubles new aviator metal-frame sunglasses to the shopping list as well. with interlaced leather chain

detail and lacquered “CC” logo. $410.

Chanel: 15 E. 57th St. or chanel.com.

Carolina Herrera’s bone, mauve, and cocoa mohair bouclé jacket with

Montblanc pays tribute to Princess Grace with the Special Edition Rollerball in purple resin ($795) and the rose-colored Limited Edition 29 writing instrument ($37,300), in honor of Grace Kelly’s birth year, 1929.

Montblanc: 598 Madison Ave. or 212.223.8888.

fox sleeves ($3,990), light amethyst wool trouser ($1,190), and gunmetal primrose suede gloves (price upon request).

Carolina Herrera: 954 Madison Ave. or 212.249.6552.

Based on an original design patented in 1936 by Stuart’s father, Seymour Weitzman, the Stuart Weitzman Heritage shoe celebrates the shoe designer’s 25th anniversary. $385.

Stuart Weitzman: 675 Fifth Ave.

74 Q U E S T

PA L M B E AC H FINE PROPERTIES

WALLY TURNER

MAJESTIC REGENCY STYLE ESTATE Gorgeous Regency style Gated Estate w/ huge gardens, fountains, and pool house. Large rooms with high ceilings, Panelled Library with fireplace. Breakfast and formal Dining Rooms. Very private street and location.

Over an acre of property. 4 Bedrooms and Pool House. $8.995M. WEB: 0075560

PRIME OCEANFRONT LAND Rare direct ocean front cul-de-sac is now offered for those who choose to design a custom residence. Prime near North end location with Lake Trail access. Architectural concepts drawn by ADIOO, Richard Landry. Adjacent oceanfront lot available separately. $22M. WEB: 0075528

THE POINT The Northeast tip of Palm Beach is now available for purchase. This is the most amazing and fabulous Waterfront parcel to Custom build your own residence.

Surround yourself with direct Oceanfront and the Palm Beach inlet. Seawall. Best views on the Island! $28.9M. WEB: 0075360

GORGEOUS GEORGIAN-ESTATE SECTION Beautiful Georgian Colonial created by Tom Kirchhoff & Colefax and Fowler of London. The spacious and inviting rooms are well proportioned and include extensive molding and millwork accurate to the Georgian period. Property is walled for privacy. Owner financing is possible. $5.45M.

ADDISON MIZNER HOUSE Addison Mizner’s’’Costa Bella’’ retains all of its original details.Grand Ballroom with stenciled pecky cypress ceiling. Large Dining Salon,fireplace and fabulous plaster ceiling. Reception Room and Massive Stone Stair Hall.5 Bedrooms with Ocean Views plus numerous staff bedrooms.3 Garages and Full Basement. $8.95M. WEB: 0075304

CASA ROSADA TOWNHOUSE Center of town.

Secluded behind historic wall designed by Addison Mizner lies this gated four bedroom and four and a half bath townhouse. New impact windows and doors. Beautiful pool, large patio with fireplace and pergola. 2 car garage, elevator. $3.65M. WEB: 0075342

DOUBLE-LOT LAKEFRONT Exceptionally redone residence on Sandpiper Drive. 4 BR Main House plus Staff AND 3 BR Guest House with kitchen and GYM. Huge Eat in Chefs Kitchen. Formal Dining Room. Resort style Pool with Big Intracoastal View. Impact Glass. Crestron System. Generator. Beach Access. Motivated seller. $4.495M. WEB: 0075402

PALM BEACH BROKERAGE | sothebyshomes.com/palmbeach 340 ROYAL POINCIANA WAY, SUITE 337, PALM BEACH, FL 33480 T 561.659.3555 F 561.655.2359 WALLY TURNER T 561.301.2060 | wally.turner@sothebyshomes.com Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc. is owned and operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, LLC. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a registered trademark.

WALLY TURNER 561.301.2060

Fresh Finds

The Surrey’s “Celebrated Suites” offers include a stay in either the Presidential or Penthouse

Contrast stitching

Suite with exclusive dining,

and plenty of

spa, and shopping extras. For

room for a day’s

more information, contact

leave define the

The Surrey: 646.358.3600.

heirloom-quality craftsmanship of Wallace & Barnes’ denim carryall. J.Crew: 212.249.3869 Fabergé’s Zhivago earrings in 18-kt. white gold

or jcrew.com.

dazzle with their cupola design, 4 round Akoya pearls, and 57 white diamonds and ruby totalling 6.2 carats. $50,430.

Fabergé: faberge.com.

From fur hats to fur-lined handbags, not to mention luxurious turtleneck dresses in the softest fabrics, Dennis Basso has the most fashionable answers for the cold-weather season.

Dennis Basso: 765 Madison Ave.

Paloma’s Groove wine holder in sterling silver by Paloma Picasso for Tiffany & Co. is a handsome, inventive way to show off your wine. $1,250.

Tiffany & Co.: tiffany.com.

The clear-cut design and sensuous form of Wempe’s sterling silver Eclipse

BY KIM pendant create a perfect symbiosis of playfulness and simplicity. $535. Wempe: 700 Fifth Ave., 212.397.9000.

76 QUEST

Fall-proof your feet with Belgian Shoes’ suede Mr. Casual shoe, which comes in an array of colors from brown to burgundy. Belgian Shoes: 212.755.7372 or belgianshoes.com.

r i c h a r d pi e r c e / t i f fa ny & co .

or 212.794.4500.

Fresh Finds

Daniel Boulud’s Cocktails & Amuse-Bouches is a two-volume

Simon Pearce’s Hartland

collection—one for him and

Flute boxed set is

one for her—of classic cock-

the perfect gift for formal

tails with a modern twist.

soirées and casual

Available at ASSOULINE

dinners alike. $130.

boutiques worldwide,

Gracious Home:

assouline.com, and

1220 Third Ave.,

danielnyc.com.

212.517.6300, or gracioushome.com.

A contemporary and chic entertaining cart, fit for any apartment: SkateModerne’s Charles Bar Cart (30” x 22” x 27”). $4,320.

SkateModerne: skatemoderne.com.

Italian maestro Etro never disappoints, and this fall is no exception. He’ll look his best in Etro’s take on the de rigueur gray fall suit. Etro: No bachelor pad (or couple’s home) is complete without

720 Madison Ave. or 212.317.9096.

Be on time with Rolex’s 39-mm.

Asprey’s Stag Head decanter.

Oyster Perpetual Explorer in stainless

$3,150. Asprey:

steel with black dial and Oysterlock

853 Madison Ave. or

bracelet. $6,200. Rolex:

212.688.1811.

800.36.ROLEX or rolex.com.

TOMS teams up with Movember, the global charity raising men’s health awareness during the moustached month of November, with this special take on its Classic shoe. $58. TOMS + Movember: TOMS.com.

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Fresh Finds

Chopard’s Xtravaganza pendant is a ray of light in

“Red Form” (1960), by Leonard

18-kt. rose gold with 137

Nelson (1912–1993), measures

diamonds totaling 3 carats.

14” x 12”. Oil and acrylic on canvas.

$43,220. Chopard:

$9,000. Wallly Findlay Galleries:

709 Madison Ave. or

124 E. 57th St. or 212.421.5390.

212.223.2304.

The exclusive brown galuchat cuff bracelet set with black diamonds in 18-kt. gold from de Grisogono is the only one of its kind. $79,200. de Grisogono: 824 Madison Ave., 212.439.4220, or degrisogono.com.

From place cards to invitations, note cards to holiday cards, Mrs. John L. Strong is your go-to for all of life’s occassions this time of year. Mrs. John L. Strong Fine Stationery: 699 Madison Ave. or 212.838.3775.

This fall’s Ralph Lauren Collection line summons a definitive Art Deco Bring the French countryside indoors with Sherle Wagner International’s “Le Jardin” traditional toile wallpaper in garnet. Sherle Wagner: 212.758.3300 or sherlewagner.com.

luxury, including sumptuous velvet gowns like this one. Ralph Lauren Collection: 888 Madison Ave. or ralphlaurencollection.com.

Scully & Scully’s famous hunt pattern has all the grace and flourish of this traditional sport. Fine bone china, dishwasher and microwave safe. Scully & Scully: 504 Park Ave. or 800.223.3717.

80 QUEST

Help for Your Troubled Teen.

Peace of Mind for You.

If your teenager is struggling with a behavioral problem, mood disorder, self-harm behavior, impulsivity, substance use or eating disorder, don’t let it tear your family apart.

We offer a specialty treatment program for adolescents at one of the finest psychiatric hospitals in the country.

Learn more at silverhillhospital.org or call us at (800) 899-4455

Name

celebrate the season at casa de campo and altos de chavon By elizabeth Quinn brown in december, Casa de Campo will say, “Feliz Navidad!” with a 15-day Christmas celebration, beginning on December 10. A tree-lighting ceremony in the plaza at Altos de Chavón—a replica of a 16th-century Mediterranean village that embraces local culture—will harken the festivities.

The program of events, many sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of the Dominican

Republic, will honor both American and Dominican traditions. With the Dominican National Ballet’s performance of The Nutcracker at the amphitheatre, caroling by the Madrigalistas Choir, and Santa Claus in Altos de Chavón, Casa de Campo promises to bring tidings of comfort and joy to its guests.

“We’re transforming the village into a fantastic holiday experience,” says Claudio Silvestri,

co u rt e s y o f c a s a d e c a m p o

tN ra av meel

The tree-lighting ceremony in Altos de Chavón’s plaza will take place on December 10, kicking off a 15-day holiday celebration at Casa de Campo.

N OVEMBER 2 0 1 1 8 3

t r av e l

Casa De Campo’s holiday calendar

84 QUEST

Saturday, December 10 12-11 p.m. Christmas bazaar, a two-day event, through the 11th

4-6 p.m. Santa Claus visits Altos de Chavón, where he greets guests, through the 23rd

Winds,” performed by the National Folkloric Ballet Monday, December 19 2-6 p.m. An authentic Dominican Republic experience 6 p.m. KANDELA!

5 p.m. Catholic mass at St. Stanislaus Church 7 p.m. Christmas tree-lighting ceremony followed by a Dominican National Ballet performance of The Nutcracker at the amphitheatre 9 p.m. Christmas recital by pianist Maria de Fatima Giraldez accompanying the National Company of Lyric Singers and soprano Antonia Maria Chabebe, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of the Dominican Republic Sunday, December 11 6 p.m. Catholic mass at St. Stanislaus Church Monday, December 12 2-6 p.m. An authentic Dominican Republic experience, an afternoon program designed to educate guests on the Dominican Republic culture

Wednesday, December 21 2-6 p.m. An authentic Dominican Republic experience 6 p.m. KANDELA! Friday, December 23 4-5 p.m. A party for ages two to 15 featuring a visit from Santa Claus 9 p.m. A performance by the National Symphonic Orchestra’s trumpeter, Victor Mitrov Saturday, December 24 6-11 p.m. Special menu at La Piazzetta 9-10 p.m. Carols performed by the Madrigalistas Choir 10 p.m. Catholic mass at St. Stanislaus Church—with an eggnog toast

6 p.m. KANDELA!, a musical performance showcasing the rhythms of the Islands

Sunday, December 25 5:30 p.m. Catholic mass at St. Stanislaus Church

Tuesday, December 13 8 p.m. Christmas concert by the National Symphonic Orchestra and the National Chorus

6 p.m. A live Nativity

Thursday, December 15 8 p.m. National Dance School performance of folkloric dance by a group of dancers aged seven to 17

8-11 p.m. A Christmas celebration where guests dance to the merengue rhythm of Orquesta Dekadas

Saturday, December 17 8 p.m. “Folklore to the Four

7-8 p.m. Santa Claus visits Altos de Chavón

For a complete calendar of events scheduled through December 30th, visit casadecampo.com.do.

co u rte s y o f c a s a d e c a m p o

president and CEO of Premier Resorts & Hotels, the management company for Casa de Campo. “You can imagine how this is going to look: spectacular!”

A Leading Hotel of the World in the Dominican Republic, Casa de Campo is recognized everywhere as an unforgettable Caribbean hideaway, gifting a world-class experience to its guests. “It’s an all new Casa de Campo experience,” says Kim Hutchinson, marketing director. “It’s fresh and refined with so many luxurious features, including dining at The Beach Club by Le Cirque.”

And as the amphitheatre (a 5,000-person venue inaugurated by Frank Sinatra) celebrates 30 years and the Teeth of the Dog (the famous golf course by Pete Dye) celebrates 40 years, Casa de Campo continues to evolve. It recently introduced the private Playita Beach (which must be reserved by guests in advance) and is working with American Airlines and JetBlue to increase the resort’s accessibility. Between more direct flights from Miami and new direct flights from New York, Casa de Campo is ensuring increased access to the Caribbean’s most complete resort. “We must be a nightmare to our competitors,” Silvestri jokingly said.

With a Christmas celebration entering its third year—“Most resorts have a Christmas tree and some decorations and that’s it,” says Silvestri—and a New Year’s Eve celebration that includes special menus at Ginos in Trastevere and La Piazzetta and special events at Onno’s, Papa Jack’s, and other venues at Altos de Chavón, Casa de Campo is, indeed, leading the way.

Everyone—young and old, naughty and nice—deserves a trip to Casa de Campo this December. There, they’ll be dazzled by Dominican decorations like charamicos (a version of the Christmas tree comprised of painted branches) and enjoy treats like pasteles en hoja (plaintain tamales stuffed with ground meat) and empanadillas de yuca (fried yucca pastries filled with beef, cheese, or chicken). For a Christmas celebration unlike any other, that still feels like home, visit Casa de Campo. u

t r av e l

Clockwise from top left: Claudio Silvestri introduces the festivities the holiday celebration; Jeannette Sanchez-Lopez, Roswitha Silvestri, and Daniela and Maurizio Saccani together at Casa de Campo; St. Stanislaus Church in Altos de Chav贸n holds Catholic masses around Christmas; the private Playita Beach, which must be reserved by guests in advance.

N OVEMBER 2 0 1 1 8 5

canteens

crowning glory by daniel cappello

power in new york comes in many forms. There are those

who can write the check that single-handedly saves an opera house, and those who can make or break a career with a call to the gossip columns. And there are those who are able to invert worlds, bringing uptown down, and vice versa. In that sense, John DeLucie is one of the most powerful men of the moment.

DeLucie is the wonder-chef behind destination restaurants The Waverly Inn and The Lion, which famously lure even the most self-contented of Upper East Siders below 57th Street (well below—into the West Village). Now, with Crown, his lat-

est opening on the tony residential block of East 81st Street, DeLucie is bringing the downtown crowd all the way up to Museum Mile, while also catering to the local soigné set.

Crown is a well-deserved name; it speaks to the regality that’s been wrought in the details of the place. There’s the marble The warm and stately dining room at John DeLucie’s latest restaurant, Crown. Opposite page: Whom you might spot, and what they might be eating; a limestone fireplace. 24 East 81st St., open weekdays for lunch and every night for dinner; 646.559.4880 or crown81.com.

canteens

staircase leading to the upscale townhouse setting, and the working limestone fireplace inside. Throughout, Crown is bathed in glamour, with gray velvet walls in the sleek, narrow bar; soaring white molded ceilings and wood-paneled walls; lighting so perfect that women could go without makeup; heraldic shields everywhere; flickering tabletop candle lamps; tawny leather banquettes; velvet chairs; and an eclectic set of modern art

ing even true Italians wobble in the knees. And fries, not even offered as a side, will seem downright pedestrian once you order the Romanesco cauliflower with golden raisins.

Of course, with DeLucie, the food is always a draw, but like at any restaurant on the coveted-reservation list, the scene is certainly worth the wait. On a recent night, it was like a reunion of the Condé Nast cafeteria when three alums of the publisher’s

Thin-waisted Upper Perfectly coiffed tv

East Side regular

cou rtes y o f c row n

morning-show anchor

Madison Ave. art

High-end fur designer

mogul and dealer

treating friends to dinner

on the walls (we are, after all, a literal stone’s throw from the Metropolitan Museum of Art). It’s swank enough for locals to feel at home, and special enough for downtowners to justify the trip. As a bonus, it’s open for lunch, when the glass ceiling in the back sheds a brilliant natural light on the space.

What could otherwise drift into the generically expected on executive chef Jason Hall’s menu is often raised to an intriguing level, thanks to the details. “Tartare” is there, but forget tuna; here, it’s Tasmanian trout, accompanied by pumpernickel crostini. Ricotta salata and red chili top a squid-ink spaghetti, mak-

trifecta—Vogue, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker—spotted one another at separate tables then gathered to gossip on a banquette in the back. On another night, when one diner realized he had left his iPhone in the cab on the way up, the driver of a black SUV stationed out front courteously helped him track down the cab to get it back. Not long after, Martha Stewart quietly left her table and was whisked away in the same SUV out front. “Martha Stewart’s driver got my phone back!” the diner celebrating over more wine shouted. At Crown, this is the kind of service you can expect—fit for a king, or a queen. u NO V E M B ER 2 0 1 1 8 7

h o spitality

The PLaza

At 9 AM on October 1, 1907, a horse-drawn carriage pulled

in front of the Plaza Hotel and Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, dashing 30-year-old scion of the great American dynasty, became the first guest of the world’s most famous hotel.

The Plaza would play host to many more grand scenes in both fact and fiction, from Donald Trump’s purchasing of the hotel in 1988, to Gatsby’s plea for Daisy’s love in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.” And while The Plaza embodies all the elegance of old New York, it is also dedicated to innovation.

The past two years have brought a bevy of enhancements to the hotel through a massive renovation and restoration project.

In spring 2010 the hotel debuted The Plaza Food Hall

by Todd English, where the renowned chef offers a range of exquisite specialty foods for takeaway or to enjoy in one of eight thematic seating areas. Soon after The Plaza launched the Eloise Suite by Betsey Johnson, named for the hotel’s most famous fictional resident: Eloise, heroine of Kay 88 QUEST

Thompson’s 1955 children’s book. The suite is rendered in an Eloise-approved palette of pink and black, with gold-leaf molding and zebra-print carpet. Complementing the suite is the Eloise Shop, where young guests can relax in the stylish living room and plan their (mis)adventures with the concierge, just like a certain young lady.

And perhaps the hotel’s grandest innovation is the butler-serviced Royal Plaza Suite, whose elaborate array of private and social rooms, sumptuous textiles and exquisite furnishings are inspired by the court of Louis XV. A series of unique oval and round vestibules connect the suite’s formal entertainment rooms, which include an exquisitely designed living room featuring a grand piano, and a luxurious dining room that seats up to 12. While The Royal Plaza Suite is accessed via a private elevator, guests might wish to arrive, just as Alfred Vanderbilt did on that grand opening in 1907, in a horse-drawn carriage. u

l i b r a ry o f co n g r e s s ( v i n ta g e ) / t h e p l a z a ( c u r r e n t )

then & Now

This page: views from The Plaza Hotel. Clockwise from top left: The Oak Bar; The Royal Plaza Suite Master Bathroom, adorned with 24-carat-gold-plated Sherle Wagner fixtures; The Palm Court’s stained-glass lay light; The Champagne Bar; view from Fifth Avenue; the

P h oto C r e d i t G o e s HERE

Plaza crest; the grand ballroom; deluxe guestroom; The Royal Terrace Suite. Opposite, the Plaza Hotel and Central Park, circa 1910.

books

marc rosen’s glamour icons

“i call perfume bottles ‘Glamour Icons’ because these fascinating small vessels have the power to transport us to a more beautiful and desirable world,” writes Marc Rosen in Glamour Icons; Perfume Bottle Design (Antique Collectors Club). “During all the years I have been involved in their creation, they have never lost their enchantment for me [...] They embody the fads and fashions of a time, the ideals and fantasies of a society, the spirit of the fragrance or fashion house that created them, the aesthetic aspirations and vision of beauty promised by the prestigious names they bear. It is a tall order for such a small package.”

The book—comprised of five chapters with a preface by Fleur Cowles, a foreward by Harold Koda, and a conversation with Hamish Bowles—documents Marc Rosen’s career alongside imagery of his designs. But it’s more than an autobiography; Marc Rosen says, “The book is about several things. It’s about glamour. Today, with the recession and reality TV, I think everybody agrees that there is a tremendous lack of glamour. I wanted to remind everyone what it used to be like, and that these bottles came out of that environment.”

As a boy, Marc Rosen was drawn to “glamour,” and the 90 QUEST

women who embodied it, such as Marilyn Monroe. His sense of glamour would inspire a perfume bottle he designed as a graduate student at the Pratt Institute, subsequently purchased by Avon for $3,000 (“I bought a Volkswagen Beetle!”). Marc Rosen joined Revlon in 1972, cultivating a talent that would introduce him to his wife, Arlene Dahl, while designing a bottle for her perfume, featuring a pattern reminiscent of dahlia blossom petals. His career continued at Elizabeth Arden in 1976, culminating in the founding of his eponymous company. Designing for everyone from Burberry to Halston, Marc Rosen has lived and—of course—breathed perfume bottles.

In Glamour Icons, Marc Rosen shares his impressions of the perfume bottle and its significance. Beginning in 1910, he discusses the trends that defined the decades— what was considered glamorous differed from the Great Depression to John F. Kennedy’s presidency, for example.

Marc Rosen’s book is a passionate homage to glamour, offering a look at history through the revealing, often colorful, glass of a perfume bottle. Proceeds benefit Marc Rosen’s scholarship at the Pratt Institute. u

co u rte s y o f a n t i q u e co lle c to r s c lu b

By elizabeth quinn brown

books

Clockwise from top left: “Il Bacio” by Marcella Borghese, 1993; “Shocking” by Schiaparelli, 1936; “Coque d’Or” by Guerlain, 1938; “Lelong Pour Femme” by Lucien Lelong, 1999. Opposite: The cover of Glamour Icons (top); Marc Rosen, seven-time FiFi Award winner (inset).

f r o m t h e a R c h i v es

ce l e b rat i n g 2 5 years o f quest

P u b l i s h e d D E C E M B E R 19 9 7 / J A N U A RY 1 9 9 8

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ce l e b rat i n g 2 5 years o f quest

f r o m t h e a R c h i v es

r e al Estat e

Q: How does the Greenwich tional country house with 10 acres in market compare to what Backcountry, wonderful Colonial estates you saw two years ago? Six in Mid-Country, some of the best watermonths ago? front houses in Belle Haven, and homes A: The market in Greenwich near or on Long Island Sound in the began to bounce back in charming and highly desirable areas of mid-2009 and has contin- Old Greenwich and Riverside. ued to improve, despite occasional softness. There Q: Do you have any advice for someone has been a significant selling their home? increase in the number of A: I am a strong believer in the importransactions, and prices tance of traditional business skills. Hire have remained relatively an experienced agent who knows the stable. According to MLS market, has connections in and outside data, Greenwich had a solid Greenwich, has a strong work ethic, spring, including a record- places the customer’s needs first, and breaking number of transac- then price the property according to the tions in June. Our company current market. Right now the market is has seen several important very clear on how properties should be sales this year including the priced, and these prices are not reflecting highest waterfront prop- the replacement cost. All one has to do erty sale in the history of to see that well priced properties are sellGreenwich. Offered with ing is to review Greenwich’s transaction Robert Bland, VP and brokerage manager an asking price of $42.5 levels. I’ve seen bidding wars across all of Sotheby’s International Realty’s Greenwich office. million, the sale of “Point price ranges in the last year. On the other of View” is also the highest property hand, properties that are priced too high over the last 15 years, Greenwich, Conn., has seen increasing growth as sale in Greenwich since 2004 according are sitting on the market. Today’s buyers buyers continue to flock to the New York to the MLS. After a strong summer, we are very sophisticated and well informed.

City suburb. Quest sat down with Robert anticipated a softer fall, especially with Bland, V.P. of Sotheby’s International Hurricane Irene and the unexpected vol- Q: Is this a good time to buy in Realty in Greenwich, to discuss the current atility in the financial markets. However, Greenwich? we have had a good September and A: In a rock-solid town like Greenwich, state of the town’s real estate market.

October continues to impress. real estate is always a good investment.

Our properties have not been hit as hard Q: How does the Greenwich market Q: What advantages do prospective as other communities, locally as well differ from other markets? as nationally. Greenwich is a community A: Greenwich is unique in that it is both buyers have today? part of the greater New York City mar- A: Buyers have so many ket and the gateway to New England. choices in all price categoStraddling these two very different and ries. Greenwich’s diverse dynamic markets, our community draws neighborhoods cater to people who are sophisticated, worldly, many different lifestyles, and highly educated. Greenwich offers a offering a wide range of types from wide range of properties, from beautiful property Backcountry estates, to waterfront homes, antique, modern, Colonial, and in-town condominiums. Greenwich and waterfront estates to has emerged as the hedge fund capital of new houses with every conthe world and a major financial center in ceivable amenity, as well its own right, helping the town evolve and as multi-acre properties.

Buyers can find a tradiattracting people to live and work here.

Magnificent English Manor: Sold. Last asking: $14,750,000.

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industry insiders

with many long-term residents, excellent public and private schools, and a variety of cultural amenities. We define the concept of an ideal place to live and grow up. One can live in the country or on the water, go sailing and enjoy other water sports, ride horses, or go to New York City for a play and dinner. We have incredible infrastructure with Metro-North offering 40minute service to Grand Central as well as access to Stamford, the Connecticut coast, Providence, and Boston. Additionally, Westchester Airport, 10 minutes from central Greenwich, handles commercial as well as private jets.

Q: What should someone look for in a broker or brokerage house?

A: Whenever I look for any product or service, I start with the best.

In Greenwich, Sotheby’s International Realty leads the town year after year in market share according to MLS data.

We are proud of our agents, all of whom are experienced and savvy with a relentless focus on hard work, integrity, and attention to detail. We lead in Greenwich simply because we have the most professional agents, backed by one of the best brands in the business. Sotheby’s International Realty is heralded as one of the most recognized, quality brands

Point of View: Sold. Last asking: $42,500,000

in the world, renowned for its sophisticated marketing, global reach, and the expertise of our agents. One of the most powerful advantages we offer clients is the ability to bring buyers and sellers together not just from the local market, but from around the world. The relationships shared among agents in all of our offices are productive and unique in our industry. Another advantage of our company is that we support our sales associates by keeping them on the cutting edge, continually training them on new web techniques and evolving technology making them more efficient and effective, and we provide local, national, and international exposure for listings through our powerful online marketing and two

comprehensive websites. We also educate them on changes in the laws regarding buying and selling houses.

Q: As a Greenwich-based firm, how do you address the needs of this unique community?

A: Our 70 full-time agents are predominately Greenwich residents and are deeply involved in the community. Whether it’s supporting Greenwich Hospital, Boys and Girls Club, Kids in Crisis, Greenwich Family Centers or other important social service groups, or promoting breast cancer awareness, we are involved. Each of our agents has an active interest in staying devoted to the community. We live here, we work here, and we support local causes, both with human energy and financial support.

Q: Any other thoughts or reflections?

A: As someone who has over three decades of real estate experience, including 11 years as an associate broker in New York City before moving to Greenwich, I have experienced many cycles of the real estate market in several different areas.

We live in dynamic times. Fortunately, our current economic stresses have not affected Greenwich as much as other areas, but I continually remind buyers and sellers that the real estate market is ever changing. Our company is well positioned to adapt quickly and efficiently to new conditions and to address the challenges that come with change. u

Elegance in Mid-Country: On the market. Asking: $7,750,000. Web ID: 0065773

For more information, call 203.869.4343 or visit sothebyshomes.com/greenwich.

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Decks and terraces for entertaining. Hartru Tennis Court. $995,000

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Cabin with marvelous Contemporary addition. Distinctive architectural details.

Skylit Living Room with Fireplace and door to Three-Season Porch. Country Kitchen. Dramatic Dining Room with vaulted ceiling and clerestory. Family Room/Office with doors to multi-level deck. Scenic and private two acres with spectacular landscaping and beautifully landscaped gardens. $659,000

On Top of the World - Spectacular 27 acre hilltop with breath- Hoosier Knoll Farm taking views of rolling countryside. Stately 1905 Stone and Shingle Country House sited to take in the view. Wraparound Front Porch. Living and Dining Rooms with Fireplaces. Five Bedrooms. Pool with Spa. Tennis Court. Two Bedroom Cottage. Garages for six cars. Studio and Barn. Waccabuc Lake rights. An incredible opportunity! $2,900,000

In the heart of horse country. Traditional Shingle Farmhouse with front and rear porches to take in the view. 4000 square feet with hardwood floors and high ceilings. Two Story Entrance Hall. Living Room with Fireplace. Formal Dining Room. Butler’s Pantry.

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80 MASON STREET . GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT 06830 GREENWICHFINEPROPERTIES.COM . 2 0 3 . 6 6 1 . 9 2 0 0 KATHY ADAMS . JENNIFER BENEDICT . LISA BILHUBER . BERDIE BRADY . ANN BRESNAN . BONNIE CAIE . LESLIE CARLOTTI . LINDA CASTRIOTA . JULIE CHURCH . BARBARA CIOFFARI . JOSIANE COLLAZO PATRICIA COUGHLIN . JEFFREY CRUMBINE . MAUREEN CRUMBINE . EVANGELA DALI . BLAKE DELANY . VIRGINIA DOETSCH . CANDY DURNIAK . JACKIE EKHOLM . LEE FLEISCHMAN . JOYCE FOWLER JANIE GALBREATH . KATHERINE GEORGAS . JANE GOSDEN . MARY ANN GRABEL . SARA HOLDCROFT . JEANNE HOWELL . ROBIN KENCEL . SHARON KINNEY . ELIZABETH KOLDYKE-BOOLBOL . GILA LEWIS SALLY MALONEY . VILMA MATTEIS . DEBBIE MCGARRITY . CINDY MEEKER . JIM MEEKER . ERIN MOODY . ELLEN MOSHER . LAUREN MUSE . LIZ OBERNESSER . MARGARET RYDZIK . MARIANNE SCIPIONE FIFI SHERIDAN . LAURIE SMITH . DOUGLAS STEVENS . LYN STEVENS . TORY THORMAN . TYLER TINSWORTH . BEVERLEY TOEPKE . JOE WILLIAMS . MIHA ZAJEC

a guest plays host By daniel cappello and elizabeth meigher Photographed By harry benson

Cornelia Guest, wearing a plum Badgley Mischka slit-shoulder dress with jewel cuff detail, in the garden of her Long Island estate, Templeton. She is joined by a few of the pets that call Templeton home, including, from left, Winston, Nelson, and the donkey Madonna. Bear relaxes on the ground beside Cornelia’s Kelson pumps by Jimmy Choo.

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Clockwise from top left: Cornelia, in a gold Badgley Mischka dress and crystal drop Badgley Mischka earrings, is joined by Nelson to greet us at the door; Cornelia frolics on the grounds in a white Badgley Mischka dress with jewel detail; Nelson relaxing by the entrance staircase at Templeton, under a portrait of Cornelia’s father, Winston Frederick Churchill Guest; Cornelia, in a teal Badgley Mischka dress, feeds Madonna; Cornelia and Madonna.

sure, she was famously dubbed the “Deb of the

Decade” (back when debutantes were all the rage), and spent her youth hanging out in the spotlight at Studio 54 and Area with the likes of Andy Warhol, Halston, Boy George, The Village People’s Randy Jones, and onetime boyfriend Sly Stallone (to name a few). At a time when socialities were meant to be pretty and demure and carry on the family name, she broke the mold, playing a part in two worlds: by day, as one of the uptown ladies who lunched; by night, as the girl who’d go downtown, partying it up with jet-setters, artists, musicians—the cool crowd.

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Clockwise from top left: A detail of the dining room table setting; Cornelia, in a Badgley Mischka sequin mini dress, Jimmy Choo Louisa glitter heels, Asprey Daisy Heritage amethyst ring, Cartier timepiece, and Kimberly McDonald earrings, gets ready for the evening under the Warhol portrait of her; in the kitchen, Cornelia whips up dessert in a white doubleface satin T-shirt and charcoal flannel skirt by St. John.

Now, however, Cornelia Guest, the daughter of polo champion Winston Frederick Churchill Guest (heir to the Phipps steel fortune) and fashion icon C.Z. Guest, is more passionate about her philanthropy, animal activism, and business ventures. As sweet as she is stunning, Cornelia also reigns over her family home, Templeton, an 11bedroom house in Old Westbury, New York, where we recently spent a day as her guests. With its classic and grand design, Templeton is spectacular, but its specialness is in the details: the Salvador Dalí portrait of C.Z.; the Warhol of Cornelia; Cornelia’s tortoise, Socrates, who roams about freely; the donkey named Madonna; and nine (yes, nine) dogs who also proudly call Templeton home.

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From top left: Elizabeth Meigher, Teal Cannaday, Diane Reverand, Cornelia (in Badgley Mischka), and Russ Cutler sit down for dinner; Cornelia (in Badgley Mischka earrings and faux-fur top, St. John pants, Stuart Weitzman satin heels, and one of her own cruelty-free woven bags) and Russ (in Ralph Lauren Black Label) game it up; a portrait of C.Z. and Cornelia on horseback. Assistant stylist: Jamie Yike. Hair by Nakia Ray; makeup by Kosia Asiamah.

A committed vegan, Cornelia has built a lifestyle brand around her catering business, Templeton Events, which showcases her culinary talent (we tasted her mouthwatering cooking firsthand—who knew a vegetable lunch and vegan chocolate chip cookies could be so good?), and around her cruelty-free handbag line set to debut at Bloomingdale’s. She’s also publishing a lifestyle book, which is scheduled to be on shelves next year.

Hosting us for the day at Templeton, Cornelia was every bit the star she’s hyped to be. We loved being with her, and we also loved being with photographer Harry Benson, who not only captured that day, but remembered what it was like taking pictures of C.Z. in the same spots years ago. u

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in a new york lens

By georgina schaeffer

Model in costume for Noel Coward’s Look After Lulu!, 1959. Opposite: Models in costumes designed by Cecil Beaton for La Traviata. Photographs by Cecil Beaton.

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the work of legendary photographer and designer Cecil Beaton never seems far from the collective New York experience—past or present. From the 1920s to the 1960s, Manhattan’s artistic and social circles embraced the British-born artist, and his work would come to help define the twentieth century. From his fashion photography at such titles as Vanity Fair and Vogue, to his celebrity shots in Hollywood, Beaton’s lens captured what could be termed “modern times.”

On view at the Museum of the City of New York through February 2012 is the new exhibit “Cecil Beaton: The New York Years.” It is the museum’s second retrospective on Beaton (the first show, “600 Faces by Beaton,” originally came from the National Gallery in London, where it earned record-breaking attendance). In this current exhibition, a staggering collection of over 220 costumes, set designs, previously unpublished letters, photographs, and drawings present a unique perspective on Beaton’s life and career in New York City.

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Greta Garbo, 1946.

Opposite: Marlene Dietrich in New York, 1937 (top) ; Andy Warhol and Candy Darling, New

Susan Henshaw Jones, the Ronay Menschel Director of the Museum of the City of New York, says, “The London-based Beaton considered New York a home away from home from the late 1920s through the 1970s. Here, Beaton achieved some of his greatest successes, experienced some of his most intense relationships, and had an earlier retrospective—at the Museum of the City of New York in 1969. So it is especially fitting that the Museum revisit this compelling figure, present his work to new audiences, and show off some of our important Beaton 1 1 0 Q U ES T

holdings—many of which have not been exhibited before.”

In conjunction with the exhibition, Skira Rizzoli has published a companion volume written by the curator of the show, Donald Albrecht. He writes in the introduction: “The reasons for Beaton’s longevity—a legacy that goes far beyond retro-chic—may be as varied and elusive as the man himself.

There is no question that Beaton was a man of astounding talents, which never really waned over the course of his fifty-year career. His restless energy and curiosity spurred him to pursue

c e c i l b e aton s t u d i o a r c h i v e , s ot h e by ’ s

York City, 1969 (bottom).

“I really only like the company of other artists. I’m amused with all sorts of other people for a variety of reasons. They can be funny, decorative, or in some other way impressive. But to come into the aura of artists is to breathe extra oxygen.” ­— C ecil Beaton

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c e c i l b e aton s t u d i o a r c h i v e , s ot h e by ’ s

new fields of artistic endeavor...and to put his own aesthetic stamp on each of these genres. Looking at these photographs and set and costumes designs now, from a vantage point of more than fifty years later, we are struck by their startling style and beauty.” Indeed, the work of Cecil Beaton is timeless, standing not only as a tribute to this aesthete, but also as a testament to the creative forces that converged and continue to emerge in New York. Beaton observed in 1968: “I really only like the company of artists...of people who create things.

I’m amused with all sorts of other people [for} a variety of reasons. They can be funny, decorative, or in some other way impressive. But to come into the aura of artists is to breathe extra oxygen.” And to witness Beaton’s collection of work now on view is indeed to breathe in the past, while celebrating the future of New York’s artistic community. u

Truman Capote in Morocco, 1949.

Opposite: Birgit Nilsson as Turandot.

This page: Above, a Limoges dessert plate with complex border decoration evocative of the Moorish style in vogue at the time, circa 1910; below, long renowned for its interpretations of Oriental porcelains for the English and European market, Royal Crown Derby issued Old Imari in 1901. Opposite page: A richly enameled game bird plate with alternating panels around a center bird. Manufactured by Derby and retailed by

art i s an

Gilman Collamore & Co., New York, circa 1882.

plate addict By georgina schaeffer

the essayist Charles Lamb admitted in 1823 that when he visited great houses, he always asked to see the china closet first.

Collecting tableware goes way beyond the average hobby— coming much closer to an obsession. In the 1600s, Saxony’s ruler, and Polish King Augustus II, described it as his maladie de porcelaine or “porcelain sickness.” And in 2005, The New York Times termed the person suffering from this disease as a “dish queen” or “a person belonging to a rarefied and sometimes loopy group who is hooked on buying dishes.”

In the new book Dish (Artisan), author Shax Riegler serves up NOVEMBER 2011 115

A RT IS A N

over 800 dinner plates beginning in the ancient world and continuing to today.

Organized thematically, each chapter features plates that represent technological breakthroughs and serve as pieces of history. The book reveals the intrigues of storied manufacturers like Meissen, Sèvres, and Limoges; it profiles plates from notable companies such as Minton, Homer Laughlin, and Noritake; and it showcases plates designed by artists including Picasso, Fornasetti, and Lichtenstein. Ultimately, readers will look up (and most likely find) their own patterns—and the stories behind them.

In the end, dishes set the tone for one of the oldest human rituals: eating. As Oscar Wilde quipped: “I find it harder and harder every day to try and live up to my blue china.” u

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This page: A sample plate from the Syracuse China Co. displays nine choice for rim colors; the first Christmas pattern, Spode’s Christmas Tree, which debuted in 1938, may be the most popular china pattern of all time. Opposite: The cover of Shax Riegler’s new book Dish (Artisan); Little Quackers, made by New Jersey’s Stangl Pottery, was introduced in 1958 and stayed in production until the company closed in 1978.

Flower Camp

By Daniel Cappello

on sumptuous gold-silk armchairs in the Galerie Lounge at the Four Seasons Hotel George V. I’ve come to Paris for one overcast week of “flower camp,” taking up residence at the George V as Leatham’s apprentice. My goal is to see if it’s possible to learn— and then recreate—the art of his floral displays.

Leatham stands out among the hotel’s clientele. He is decidedly décontracté for Paris, dressed in a pec-hugging V-neck, paint-stained jeans, scuffed boots, and handmade Tibet wood bracelets. His chic, however, is undeniable; the French, in fact, admire it, even if it’s not a particularly Parisian aesthetic (his is more of a West-Coast American genre). His short-cropped reddish-brown hair, chiseled features, and blue-green eyes befit his cool, laid-back manner.

Since I’ve arrived, almost everyone on the hotel staff says that “Jeff is fun.” Still, I’ve been forewarned by frequent international guests of the hotel that Leatham can be something of an affected artiste—known to storm through the lobby in a black cape, pluck an out-of-place flower from a vase, and discard it on the floor. Leatham seems amused by this. He heaves a sigh and slams down his hand, clanking a large turquoise ring—a reminder of his Ogden, Utah, upbringing—on the glass table top. “I don’t even own a fucking cape!” he laughs. “I find these stories funny,” he chuckles. “I’m always like, That’s not who I aaam.”

Such is the price of fame. Leatham catapulted from anonymity to near-instant legend after landing a chance gig at the Four Seasons Hotel at Beverly Hills in the mid-1990s. He was in Los Angeles working as a model when, to pick up extra cash, he took a job sweeping floors and cleaning shop at the florist adjacent to the hotel. He tried his hand at arrangements, and soon his flowers were the focal point of the hotel. Ian Schrager tapped him to outfit Schrager hotels, and celebrities flocked to him thereafter. Several years later, when Four Seasons acquired the George V, it lured Leatham to relocate to Paris with a weekly budget of up to 15,000 stems, delivered four times a week by 1 1 8 Q U EST

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i am sitting with Jeff Leatham, the Rem Koolhaas of florists,

For a fundraising dinner at Versailles, the French Minister of Culture called on Jeff Leatham to decorate the Hall of Mirrors in flowers— all without using water.

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car from Holland. Still, today, Leatham remains humbled by the beauty of his medium. In fact, the only thing diva-like about him is perhaps his client list, which boasts the likes of everyone from Sarah Jessica Parker, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tina Turner, Oprah, and the Clintons (he did Chelsea’s wedding, and that screensaver on Bill Clinton’s smartphone is one of Jeff’s displays) to the fashion houses of Ungaro and Tom Ford. When the French Minister of Culture needed to raise money for the restoration of the Opéra Royal de Versailles, he decided to host a gala dinner in the famous Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, marking the first major event hosted in the Hall of Mirrors since Marie Antoinette herself called for a dinner party. Leatham, naturally, was selected to set the scene with flowers. Given the sanctity of the space, he couldn’t use water; his flowers, though fresh, had to survive dry—which they did, dazzlingly.

Leatham revolutionized the way we look at flowers. He broke floral ground by approaching his work architecturally, focusing on the natural shapes, bends, and colors of flowers in order to celebrate their form. He never tried to recreate an English garden in a pot; instead, he took the intrinsic beauty of flowers and exaggerated it into a form of art. “My displays aren’t about the flowers necessarily,” he explains. “They’re about the final look—like a Jackson Pollock.”

The signature “Leatham look” has become so popular and imitated that, now, when you see it, it almost seems clichéd: teeming bunches of monochromatic flowers—say, thickstemmed roses or hydrangeas—hanging out from the top edges of clear, cylindrical vases. They look like seesaws about to teeter downward, yet, somehow, they stay naturally fixed at impossible forty-five degree angles. They look as if suspended by strings, but they are placed just so, in order to shoot out of their vases like firework displays. Leatham also thought to “drown” calla lilies, dunking them headfirst into a vase to magnify their perfections.

He let their curvy stalks reach up and out of vases to dramatic effect. Suddenly, what was more interesting was what was happening inside the vase. He “decapitated” roses and carnations and let them float in see-through globe vases. He mixed vases of varying geometries to accentuate the architectural qualities of individual flowers and of those en masse.

Simply put, his displays seem as if touched by magic. During my residence at the George V, I listen to guests marvel at the “celestial” quality of Leatham’s flowers. Suzy Menkes, the fashion editor of the International Herald Tribune, has hired Leatham for private parties and is a longtime fan. She likens his work to “the floral equivalent of haute couture—when you Jeff Leatham’s signature look—monochromatic bunches of flowers teeming out of vases at impossible angles—in the lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel George V, in Paris. Opposite, clockwise from top left: Christmas trees at the George V are inventively illuminated in crystal boxes; seasonal displays in the lobby of the George V; a “Snow White” Christmas in the courtyard of the George V; pastries and flowers are both treats for diners at Le Cinq; black vases set off luschiously white flowers at the George V; the floral artist Jeff Leatham.

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“My displays aren’t about the flowers necessarily,” Jeff Leatham explains.

“They’re about the final look—like a Jackson Pollock.” Indeed, Jeff Leatham elevated flowers to an art form, making them the center of attention at events held in decorated banquet halls, like the salons of the Four Seasons Hotel George V, in Paris. Opposite page: A balcony suite at the George V offers guests the chance to dine en plein air with magical views of the Eiffel Tower—and customized floral arrangements by artistic director Jeff Leatham.

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watch a master take a piece of fine fabric and drape it, so that it looks as though a cloud had fallen from the sky to the body.”

Watching them, it’s almost as if Leatham’s flowers are like ballet dancers frozen on the stage: they curve and lift and gesture in sweeping extensions. They weep, they effervesce, they smile; they tell stories. They harmonize opposing angles and weights with statuesque contrapposto. Before Leatham, flowers were more like background scenery; in his hands, they become the centerpieces of public spaces, parties, and private houses. As Cher says, “Jeff is not a florist—he’s a genius.”

Back at flower camp, I am set with the task of replacing the nearly endless “decapitated” rose heads floating in tall cylindrical vases everywhere. “Just pop the heads off and let them swim,” Jeff shows me. (Without a stem, a floating rose drinks directly from the water and lives well over a week.) Leatham’s nine assistants are scurrying about around me, rushing carts of fuschia orchids, hot-pink roses, and blood-red calla lilies like hospital patients on gurneys. There’s a sense of urgency for the changing of the flower guard at Le Cinq, the hotel’s gray-andgold Michelin-starred restaurant. Breakfast has ended and lunch is about to begin. “Champagne anyone?” Jeff shouts. I decline, to which he snaps back, “BOR-ING!” Under pressure, Jeff can become demanding. “You better get to work,” he yells at me, only half-jokingly. “This is camp!”

As a sort of final exam, Jeff hands me a heavy bunch of thick-stalked purple hydrangeas that are intended for the restaurant’s reception desk. He sets down a wide glass vase with an hourglass waist into which I’m supposed to somehow stuff a leaning tower of the top-heavy flowers. I’ve seen him do it before—beat the bunch, petals-first, into the floor, so that they align on a single plane—but I’m hesitant to treat what seem like fragile flowers that way. “They grew up in nature,” he reminds me. “It’s much meaner than me.” So I start to pound the heads into the carpet, petals flying everywhere, until Jeff grabs them and helps me cut the stalks so that they line up. I invert the flowers, hoist them up and into the vase, then try to gauge at which angle they’ll be able to shoot out on one side. I almost get there, and one of the heads falls off. Jeff picks it up and plops it inside the vase, beneath the angled stems. It changes the aesthetic of my arrangement—for the better. Suddenly it looks like a gorgeous purple version of the dessert île flotante, with sparklers flying out at angles from the side. “Ooooh, yeaaah,” Jeff simmers, before pruning loose petals. “The most beautiful arrangements,” he admits, nodding approvingly at my accident of an arrangement, “are often from the biggest mistakes.” u

Suzy Menkes, the fashion editor of the International Herald Tribune, likens Jeff Leatham’s artistry to “the floral equivalent of haute couture— when you watch a master take a piece of fine fabric and drape it, so that it looks as though a cloud had fallen from the sky to the body.”

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assouline

Guests of the Marquis George de Cuevas’ 1953 ball in Biarritz included the occasional dromedary.

nights to remember By christian chensvold

In 1897, during the autumn of the Gilded Age, Bradley and Cornelia Martin threw a ball at the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel that surpassed in outré ostentation anything New York had seen before. It would be, its hostess promised, “the greatest party in the history of the city.”

But the ball’s conspicuous display came at an economic low-point for the city, and no sooner had the last waltz ended than the grandiose gathering was decried by press and pulpit. The city of New York’s riposte was cruelly apropos: it raised the Martin’s taxes. Scandalized, the couple fled the country.

There are parties, soirées, and receptions—and then there are balls. The latter— particularly the fancy dress kind— live on in legend long after the last bottle of bubbly has been quaffed. Nine of the most spectacular —from Czar Nicholas II’s Romanov Ball of 1903 to Baron Guy and Baroness Marie-Hélène de Rothschild’s Proust Ball of 1971—are chronicled in Bals: Legendary Costume Balls of the Twentieth Century, by London-based dandy-author Nicholas Foulkes, whose previous tomes include a history of high society.

“For a few decades,” Foulkes writes, “costume balls became the nexus at which the worlds of the arts, money, that oldNO V E M B E R 2 0 1 1 1 2 5

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This page: Titanic victim John Jacob Astor IV in fancy dress.

Opposite: Jacqueline de Ribes at Baron Alexis de Redé’s Oriental Ball in Paris, 1969.

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fashioned concept of breeding, and the rather newer-fangled concept of celebrity fused, creating evanescent works of the imagination that bloomed for a few hours, illuminating the night with all their polychromatic splendor and dying with the first creeping gray-pink light of dawn.”

One chapter gives a play-by-play recap of Truman Capote’s Black and White Ball, held at the Plaza Hotel in 1966 (partygoer Lee Radziwill adorns the book’s slipcase) in honor of Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham. The guest list, writes Foulkes, “was a chance for Capote to audit his friendships, reward those whom he liked or thought important, and punish those against whom he held some grievance.”

With its lavish illustrations (what else would you expect from Assouline?), forward by Hélène David-Weill and afterward

by Marisa Berenson, Bals gives readers the vicarious pleasure of being a wallflower eavesdropping on the fashionable interminglings and romantic assignations of the past century’s greatest parties. You can practically hear the music, the laughter, and the rustle of taffeta. u Clockwise from top left: Andy Warhol at Truman Capote’s Black and White Agnelli entering the Plaza Hotel for Truman Capote’s famous party. Opposite: the masked faces of Frank Sinatra and wife Mia Farrow at the Black and White Ball. For more information on Legendary Bals, visit assouline.com.

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Ball; Pierre Balmain and companion at The Cuevas Ball; Marella and Gianni

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Three-Piece Sweet

RIZZOLI

By christian chensvold

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This page, clockwise from left: Cashew Polvorones, by Kir Rodriguez of the French Culinary Institute; Quentin's Grandma's Rugelach, by Jason Weiner and Risa Smith of Almond; Banana Chocolate Chip Sandwiches,

by Jennifer McCoy of Craft. Opposite: Black Forest.

A tasty trio of books freshly baked by Rizzoli­— Extraordinary Cakes, One Sweet Cookie, and Cooking with Chocolate —celebrates the art of the baker, cookiemeister, and chocolatier with desserts that are almost too beautiful to eat.

Krasne’s recipes are organized according to the four seasons, and aren’t baking projects to take on when you’re craving a sugar rush. “I strongly recommend that you read through whichever recipe you are contemplating before diving right in,” the author writes. “These are not cakes that you can bake, decorate, and eat in the same day.” Moreover, if you really want to follow each recipe to the letter, you’ll practically need a crash course in flower arranging, as one of Krasne’s signatures is the seasonal florals she uses to decorate her cakes, including cymbidium orchids, ranunculus, obake, and stephanotis.

One Sweet Cookie: Celebrated Chefs Share Favorite Receipes,

by Tracey Zabar with photography by Ellen Silverman, takes highly original cookie recipes from 75 of the best culinary talents in Manhattan, including chef’s personal recipes as well as signature creations of restaurants such as Le Cirque, Eleven Madison Park, Grammercy Tavern, and Artisinal. Over 90 confectionary concoctions are included in such categories as brownies, shortbread, biscotti, meringues, macaroons, and oatmeal cookies. “This beautifully photographed book,” Rizzoli writes, “will not only appeal to discriminating dessert lovers, but also to fans of New York City’s culinary scene, the cookie-swap aficionado, and the bake-sale maven.”

Finally there’s Cooking with Chocolate: Essential Recipes and Techinques, edited by Frederic Bau with Pierre Hermé and L’École du Grand Chocolat Valrhona, with photography

by Clay McLachlan. This veritable course in chocolatology starts with 100 step-by-step techniques, 14 of which are further enhanced on the 90-minute DVD included. The book follows with 100 recipes split across nine sections and graded by complexity. It also includes practical resources, such as visual dictionaries of equipment and ingredients, a guide to chocolates from white to milk and dark, and a handy explanation of the all-important matter of cocoa content. u This page, images from Cooking with Chocolate: Essential Recipes and Techniques. Opposite, clockwise from top: Tortamisu; Viking; Banana Cream Torte.

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RIZZOLI

At the highest level of the sweet-maker’s art, desserts become as beautiful to behold as to eat. In fact, one often pauses with apprehension before consuming them, since to use desserts for their intended purpose—ingestion— is to erase these beautiful creations from existence.

This fall a tasty trio of books, freshly baked by Rizzoli, celebrates the art of the baker, cookiemeister, and chocolatier.

Extraordinary Cakes: Recipes for Bold and Sophisticated Desserts, by Karen Krasne with photography by Christina Wright, showcases the contemporary sensibility and unexpected flavor combinations of Krasne, dubbed the “queen of cakes”

by Gourmet magazine. Krasne is the founder of Extraordinary Desserts in San Diego, where lines routinely run out the door.

K l o pp

What the Chairs Wear This month, Karen Klopp continues to answers the eternal question of “What to wear?” in her What the Chairs Wear column, suggesting an ensemble that reflects the richness ™

of an Indian-themed evening at the Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center’s fall party. Here, she ensures that the “gals of the galas” look their most spectacular!

the well-traveled event chairmen—Allison Aston, Lisa Errico, Cynthia Smith, Ferebee Taube, and Eleanor Ylvisaker—and the associates committee of the Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center are transforming the Four Seasons Restaurant into the magically vibrant Jaipur, India, for the organization’s Fall Party at 7 p.m. on November 16. With the support of Munnu Kasliwal of The Gem Palace, the occasion promises to be one of the most exotic events 134 QUEST

of the season. Founded in 1946, the Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center is a volunteer organization that develops and funds programs that enhance patient care, support cancer research, and provide public education on the prevention, early detection, and treatment of cancer. u For more information, visit thesocietyofmskcc.org. For fall party inquiries, contact Rachel Katz at katzr@mskcc.org.

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To complement this exciting Indian festival, we chose a Ralph Lauren dress of liquid gold, silk charmeuse (1) to provide a rich backdrop to the radiant jewels from The Gem Palace, like the carved 18-kt. gold bird ring (2) and the 22-kt. gold and flat-cut diamond necklace (4). Artisans in India are creating a vibrant atmosphere, and to accessorize, we chose the elegant Tory Burch Amina sandals in exquisite satin and suede (3) and the understated luxury of Stuart Weitzman’s clutch (5).

For more information on The Gem Palace, please call 212.861.0606.

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a p p e a r a n c es

worldly pursuits by hilary geary

There is nothing quite as exhilarating

than New York City in the fall as it buzzes with loads of activities, benefits, openings and “special events,” but this September there were major standouts! The New York City Ballet opening night performance of “Ocean’s Kingdom” was an 136 QUEST

extra special event with music composed by the living legend; the Beatle who everyone loves and has always loved: Sir Paul McCartney! When Peter Martins, who choreographed the ballet, toasted Paul after the performance with a cup of tea (Balanchine used to toast with vodka,

oh well!), Paul waved back at the audience then pretended to play a guitar. The audience swooned just like it was 1964!

The ballet was a father and daughter “act” with colorful costumes designed by Stella, his very talented daughter. I hope we’ll see versions of them in her next

pat r i c k m c m u ll a n

Above: Sir Paul McCartney takes a bow after the New York City Ballet’s opening night performance of “Ocean’s Kingdom” with music he composed.

collection! After the performance, we headed into a tent for a vegetarian dinner and danced the night away! Among the fans were Liz and Jeff Peek, Wendy and Henry Brick, Dailey and Gordon Pattee, Lauri and David Carey, Jamie Niven, Lee Auchincloss, Virginia Coleman and Peter Duchin, Jo Carole Lauder, Julia and David Koch, Sydney and Stanley Shuman, Carol and Earl Mack, Charlotte Moss and Barry Friedberg, Joanne and Roberto de Guardiola, Jenny and John Paulson, Beth De Woody, Nina Griscom and Lionel Piraino, Marlene Hess and Jim Zirin, and Coco and Arie Kopelman.

Another extraordinary fundraiser was the annual Whitney event, this year honoring writer Calvin Tompkins. For the first time this event was not held at the museum, but downtown on Hudson River Park’s Pier 57, around the corner from where the new Whitney will be located. Art lovers included Esther and

Jean Vanderbilt and Mike Meehan, Bob Hurst, Beth de Woody, Julian Schnabel, and Richard Meier.

Catie and Don Marron tossed open the doors of their art-filled aerie to toast the new publication High Line: The Inside Story of New York City’s Park in the Sky

by Joshua David and Robert Hammond.

Among the group applauding the authors were Annette and Oscar de la Renta, Barbara Walters, Lally Weymouth, Emilia and Pepe Fanjul, Andrea and Marc Glimcher and more.

A big group turned up at the Palm Court at the Plaza Hotel to celebrate the book Glamour Icons by Marc Rosen, including his beautiful wife, Arlene Dahl, plus Mario Buatta, CeCe Cord, Jackie Weld, Sharon Sondes, and Ann Downey with her daughter Mona de Sayve.

Off for a quick spin to Hong Kong, which is all the way across the world but seems closer than ever thanks to my

leathers and alligator skins. Lucky for me, they had a whole new batch of alligator skins in fabulous colors to choose from. I swooned when I saw the matte turquoise which I could not resist. (They can copy just about any style of shoes or handbag and mail it in two weeks time!)

Next, we headed over to Pedder Street to check out three terrific galleries all conveniently located in the same building. The first stop was Gagosian for a new show of Zeng Fanzhi paintings.

Then we popped into the Hannart gallery and finally to the Lalanne show at Ben Brown Fine Arts, which was terrific!

It is also certainly worth taking a stroll through the “mall” off the Four Seasons Hotel with their large array of shops from Tom Ford to Loro Piano to Tiffany’s!

I have to dine at least once every trip at Sir David Tang’s fabulous China Club. It truly is the most glam yet charming spot I can think of. We also had a scrumptious

Above, from left to right: Dailey and Gordon Pattee; Marianna Kaufman and Scott Snyder; Alberto Meija and Lis Waterman.

David Remnick, Marianna and George Kaufman, Muffy and Sherrell Aston, Grace and Chris Meigher, Audrey Gruss, Alberto and Peggy Meija, Scott Synder, Harriet and Ronald Weintraub, Tommy Lee and Anne Tenenbaum, Diane and Tom Tuft, Lis and Richard Waterman,

BlackBerry and iPad. We stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel, which is top-notch in every possible way. The food, service, and views are perfection! My first stop was (of course) to Mayer Shoes and Handbags at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel at 5 Connaught Road to peek at the beautiful

meal at L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon. (It’s a few escalator rides to get there, but worth the journey.) We had another delectable dinner at Alain Ducasse’s Spoon in the InterContinental Hotel with stunning views of the harbor. What a fabulous sparkling town! u NO V E M B E R 2 0 1 1 1 3 7

Brown

YGL

THE YOUNG & THE GUEST LIST It’s a swirl of a month for our columnist, between Cinema Society screenings, a “20-something” event at the River Club, and the Far Hills Race Meeting.

Whether she’s wearing platform heels or Hunter boots, she’s always on the go!

by Elizabeth quinn Brown

Chris Nizolek, Kylie Gattinella, Andrew Leisman, Chloe Wynne, and Schuyler Reece at the River Club on September 23.

Tara Thompson Rasmus, Erin Cohen, and Lisa Salzer indulge in champagne at Cipriani 42nd Street.

Luke LaBranche at the River Club for a black and white-themed event.

Morgan Richardson and Julia Flynn at Cipriani 42nd Street on September 22.

Shauna Brook, Erika Bearman, and Nessi Erkmenoglu at “DreamBall After Dark.”

DJ Harley Viera-Newton performed at “DreamBall After

Victoria Harman, Alex Price, and Jamie Tang

Dark” at Cipriani 42nd Street on September 22.

photographed at an event on September 23.

Billy farrell agency; Elizabeth Kern

The month of october is one of my favorite things, next

to crisp apple strudels and warm woolen mittens. And with holidays like the New York Rangers’ season opener, the Far Hills Race Meeting, and Halloween, I’m good to go!

“DreamBall After Dark,” on September 22, benefited “Look Good ... Feel Better,” a non-medical, brand-neutral public service program supported by the American Cancer Society and Personal Care Products Council Foundation that teaches beauty techniques to cancer patients to help them manage the appearance-related side effects of cancer treatment. Cipriani 42nd Street was bouyant with hundreds of balloons, and Lauren Bush, Emma Snowdon-Jones, Lucy Sykes-Rellie, Timo Weiland, and Arden Wohl followed dinner with dancing to music by DJ Harley Viera-Newton.

The River Club held a “20-something” event with a black-

and-white theme on September 23. Draped in Haute Hippie, I arrived, soon chatting with Charlie Bakke, Kate Elkin, Sarah Goodkind, Medora Hartz, Jamie McAvity, and Alex Polkinghorn. Then I ate a couple of cookies and everything was as dramatic as the episode of The Hills where Kristen wears white and L.C. wears black, except not really. At 12:30 a.m., everyone continued to Dorrian’s for a little “Runaround Sue.” “New York After Dark,” hosted by the Museum of the City of New York’s director’s council and sponsored by Graff and Valentino, took place at the Four Seasons Restaurant on October 12. Alessandra Codinha, Christian Leone, Nicole Mellon, Melissa Morris, and Elisabeth Saint-Amand encircled the pool, indulging in bites such as scallops and sliders as they awaited a moment with Mark Gilbertson. After admiring the scene, anchored by several trees symbolizing the seaNO V E M B E R 2 0 1 1 1 3 9

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Zee mixed over Svedka cocktails with an energy rivaling that of the film. On the 20th, Columbia Pictures and the Cinema Society hosted a screening of Anonymous at MoMA. The film, set in Elizabethan England, speculates on the identity of the person known as William Shakespeare, offering a resolution in which the themes of the writer’s work are a manifestation of his life, and vice versa. Sort of really awesome, as was the fact that Paul McCartney was seated behind me. The after-party was at Circo, where Hugo Becker, Alyssa Faden, Courtney Love, Joely Richardson, and Amanda Setton gathered, enjoying Italian bites. Outside, Rhys Ifans paused to speak—in Welsh!—to Caroline Smith and me which was, well, rhyfeddol, meaning “wonderful” in English.

co u rte s y o f pa i g e m a n a g e m e n t; pat r i c k m c m u ll a n

son, I departed with Sam Dangremond and Kate Erickson...

The Fulton opened in the Financial District—a gastropub god among investment-banking men. There a crowd of PYTs including Laura DuBois, Anisha Lakhani, and John Munson gathered, as did Brian Boyle, Brandon Prust, and Brad Richards, all members of the New York Rangers. I chatted with Carson Griffith, with whom I appear on Gossip Girl (shh!), before strolling to Wall Street, where I occupied a bar and protested in favor of pumpkin-flavored brews.

The Cinema Society hosted a screening of Footloose on October 12, with an after-party atop tri-level Catch in the Meatpacking District. There Lorenzo Martone, Petra Nemcova, and Joe

a Museum of the City of New York event.

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Jessica Hart at the opening of The Fulton.

Below: The Four Seasons Restaurant, aglow, for

Julianne Hough and Kenny Wormald atop Catch in the Meatpacking Distrcit.

Andrew Saffir and Nick Hunt following a screening of Anonymous, hosted by Cinema Society and Columbia Pictures.

Sasha Lazard and Andrew Allen at a Museum of the City of New York event.

Alixe Laughlin, Emilie Ghilaga, and Lizzie Edelman at “New York After Dark.”

Christian Campbell and Billy Magnussen at a Cinema Society after-party for a screening of Footloose.

Jennifer Creel, Allison Aston, and Hilary Dick together at the Four Seasons Restaurant.

Hamish Bowles at the Museum of the City of New

Amanda Setton at a Cinema Society after-

York’s “New York After Dark” on October 12.

party at Circo on October 20.

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YGL The Far Hills Race Meeting happened on October 22, for which I boarded a NJ TRANSIT train at 8:11 a.m. with Carver Diserens and Lauren Ruddy, among others, toting an L.L.Bean bag holding an external iPhone battery, a peanut butter PowerBar, and a six-pack of Miller Lite. The ride was a whole lotta Camp Trin-Trin, a whole lotta mess—documented, of course, via mupload (who drinks Four Loko before noon?). Soon I deboarded, bumping into Oliver Thompson before heading to a tailgate hosted by Dane Evans and Pete Hansen to catch up a

little bit with Maggie Lydecker. Then I made my way through the mud, spotting Bobby Goulding, Sean Hotchkiss, David Mehlman, and, like, everyone ever. Lots of people were highfiving me, probably because I’m awesome and, also, because I was wearing a T-shirt from Mikey Van Beuren’s company, HIGHFIVECITY.com. Anyway, the day, for more than most, ended ridiculously, but that’s really the only way to go I think.

So, R.I.P. iPhone (and a contact or two in particular). I will remember you fondly, forever and ever amen. u

Jockeys and their horses race in a steeplechase in Far Hills,

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N.J., on October 22.

Sam Dangremond, Reid Longley, Fifi Knott, John Lockwood, Andrew Foote, and McKay Claghorn in Far Hills, N.J.

Jacqueline Cooke, Rebecca Regan, Emma Greenberg, and Anne de la Mothe Karoubi wearing tartan and tweed at the Far Hills Race Meeting on October 22.

One partier dips another between tailgates at the Far Hills Race Meeting on October 22.

Kyle Sullivan riding a Metro-North train to Far Hills, N.J. with a group of people from Trinity College.

Alana Tabacco, Kate Barton, Jill Richard, and Lucy Batterman in Far Hills, N.J.

Tripp Potter, wearing Loro Piana, and Leah Gibson amid the revelry at the Far Hills Race Meeting on October 22. The uniform? Jeans and black Hunter boots.

Lauren Ruddy, our columnist, and Carver Diserens balance atop a bale of hay.

Gus Spaulding, Brad Hunnewell, Avery Woods, and

Sam Moorhead and Hunter Norte on their

James Park aboard a NJ TRANSIT train.

way to the Far Hills Race Meeting.

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SNAPSHOT

Clockwise from top left: piping hot madeleines wrapped in white linen napkins and sprinkled with powdered sugar; Bradfield with Amy Hoadley and his signature French 75 cocktail; the exterior of Daniel, at 60 East 65th St.

the sweetest ending marcel proust, in his remarkable novel Remembrance of

Things Past, describes his madeleine experience as an “exquisite pleasure invading his senses.” I am not one to normally make comparisons between New York and Paris because, quite frankly, I think New York goes one better on almost all counts.

And fortunately for us, we can share Proust’s “shudder of delight” at a favourite watering hole on 65th and Park. The bar at Daniel has become almost the last of its kind, and has been my late night haunt since its inception in 1998.

I have watched in despair as our Upper East Side nightlife has been systematically siphoned off by Lower Manhattan.

The clubs that ruled when I first arrived in 1977 have all but vanished, and although I am not the night owl I used to be, I do not like ending my evenings without a nightcap, preferably with friends in civilized surroundings. The siren call of the Boom Boom Room, as seductive as it sounds, can be far too big a challenge for me, both sartorially and 144 QUEST

geographically. Daniel consistently fits the bill.

Piping hot madeleines wrapped in white linen napkins on silver chargers arrive at one’s table, served by an impeccably groomed young staff that are both totally professional and disarmingly charming. And, may I add, the madeleines from Daniel’s pastry chef defy comparison. Complement this surfeit of joy with yet another irresistible temptation, the notorious French 75 cocktail, named, not without good reason, after the goliath 75-mm. French field gun used in World War I. Daniel’s head bartender, the dashing Xavier Herit, knows how to concoct this liquid artillery to perfection. It’s guaranteed to knock your socks off.

Although the handsome attendants may dwindle as the hour hand drifts into single numerals, there is never so much as a hint of reproachment on their part. This is New York service at its very best. And you have my assurance, you will never have a better madeleine in your mouth. —Geoffrey Bradfield

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