On Monday, New York's most well-to-do art patrons headed to the Upper East Side to celebrate the season inside one of the city's last remaining Gilded Age mansions. The Autumn Dinner at The Frick Collection is always one of the social calendar's most coveted affairs, and the anticipation is well deserved.
Following a lively cocktail hour in the mansion-turned-museum's elegant Garden Court - a glamorous scene straight out of an Edith Wharton novel - guests made their way to the surrounding galleries, where a dramatic dinnerscape greeted them amid masterpieces by Vermeer, Rembrandt, and The Frick's newest special collection, Manet: Three Paintings from the Norton Simon Museum. From the two, practically mile-long banquets in the West Gallery to the intimate tables spread out in the Oval Room and, for the first time ever, the mansion's rich Library Gallery, autumnal florals by Ariel Dearie Flowers set the mood with warm tones, gilded branches, and persimmons. Combined with guests' autumn-inspired black tie ensembles, it all seemed like a painting brought to life.
This year's event honored Stephen A. Schwarzman, CEO and Co-Founder of Blackstone, and a longtime friend and supporter of The Frick. By the end of the magical evening, over $1,000,000 was raised to benefit the iconic institution.
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[Photo by Angela Pham/BFA.com]