Photos from the American Folk Art Museum Gala

Adam Gopnik, Billie Tsien, Martha Parker, and Tod Williams

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We were in luck at the Folk Art Museum gala last night when the first person we laid eyes on was its president, Laura Parsons (wife of Citigroup chairman Richard Parsons). Ms. Parsons was sitting with Raffaella Cribiore, a curator of papyri at Columbia's Rare Book and Manuscripts Library. We learned about two works in Ms. Parsons's personal collection: A self-portrait by Clementine Hunter and Hale Woodruff's "Cotton Pickers," which hangs in her living room.

Over by the silent auction table, Barry Briskin, the chairman of the museum, was talking with Robin Schlinger. "This is a really great event. All the proceeds go to education, which is so important," Mr. Briskin said.

We met Phyllis Kossoff and Jan Willem van Bergen Henegouwien (phew!). We admired the red ribbon on the lapel of Paul Baerwald, which he received, he said, for making a donation to the Actor's Fund at a performance that day of Manhattan Theater Club's "The Royal Family." "It's a great play," Mr. Baerwald said.

We saw the guest everyone was referring to as both "the most handsome man in the room" and "Uma's guy." That would be Arpad Busson. Uma, as in Uma Thurman, was not present. Busson is tall with a serious yet boyish face and Calvin Klein model's haircut. Others we spotted and admired without taking a photograph: Gillian Miniter wearing the hot color for November, an emerald green; Dorothy Lichtenstein, and Taryn and Mark Leavitt, whom we know for their leadership at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in the Berkshires.

Our lens caught up with the chairman of Yale University's corporation, Roland Betts, his wife, Lois, and friend Dianne Renwick -- right before Mr. Betts took his wife to the dance floor. Near the tables designated for the young professionals, we found Ashley Mohr and Matt Mitchell admiring the view from Tribeca Rooftop.

Adam Gopnik told us that after recently giving a lecture about van Gogh, he still feels that "Starry Night" "looks like the greatest painting of modern times." Later, Mr. Gopnik and his wife walked over to the architects Billie Tsien and Tod Williams and posed for a photo. Ms. Tsien and Mr. Williams designed the American Folk Art Museum and are now working on the Barnes Foundation's downtown Philadelphia structure; they'll be attending a groundbreaking ceremony this Friday in Philadelphia, though Mr. Williams told us they started digging the hole in the ground yesterday.

One of Mr. Gopnik's dining companions was the executive director of the museum, Maria Ann Conelli. Their meal: a poached pear salad with pine nuts, their choice of filet mignon with broccolini or grilled salmon with quinoa, and a baked caramelized apple tart.

Yaz Hernandez introduced us to some of the guests at her table, including composer Marcos Galvany, who divides his time between New York and Washington, D.C. and is working on an opera that is set to premiere at Carnegie Hall on April 10, related to the story of Easter. He said he's heard the Vatican may be interested in hosting a performance.

Alas we were not the ones who put in the winning $14,000 bid for a week's trip to Tuscany -- but we did get to watch the suspenseful auction. And we also got to share hellos and hugs with good souls we haven't seen in a while: pianist Bruce Levingston and American Folk Art Museum trustee Lawrence Benenson. All in all, a folksy night.