Standing by a fireplace and a table stacked with art books, the hostess gave her formal welcome, smiling broadly and gesturing with her arms not only to guests but to her children looking on from a balcony above.

"And if you don't eat more food, I'll be really annoyed," she said.

As a deputy chairman at Christie's America, Amy Cappellazzo spends a lot of her time coaxing and educating collectors in preparation for big auctions; since 2001, she has presided over sales of postwar and contemporary art at Christie's, accounting for more than $400 million.

But on this recent night, at her brownstone home, where art is everywhere, including Murakami's in her daughter's pink bedroom, Ms. Cappellazzo was laying the groundwork for a big night of another kind: a gala to fund-raise for scholarships at Pratt Institute, the design and architecture school based in Brooklyn.

The event, named Legends, will take place October 16 at the Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers and honor writer and arts and preservation advocate Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel and artists Takashi Murakami and Julian Schnabel.

Ms. Cappellazzo, who has a master's degree in urban planning from Pratt, is a school trustee, and friends with all three honorees, only one of whom, Ms. Diamonstein-Spielvogel, was present for the kickoff party last week.

Mr. Schnabel was in France, and Mr. Murakami was in Los Angeles, she explained, before raising her glass.

"Here's to Pratt. Forget a ticket, buy a table, and wherever you go, talk about how wonderful Pratt is," Ms. Cappellazzo said.

A "Fundraising Kit" handed out to guests contained 10 stamped Save the Date cards — shiny black cards with silver lettering — as well as an order form for tickets (Legends sponsor tables are $50,000; individual tickets are $1,000 to $2,500).

The president of the school, Thomas Schutte, emphasized what is necessary for the event to be a success: 80% of students at Pratt are on scholarship, which translates into approximately $30 million annually.

Meanwhile, the school has top rankings in architecture and design, and becomes more selective every year. For the 668 places in the freshman class this year, the school received 5,200 applications.

The chairman of the school, Mike Pratt, noted his great-great-grandfather Charles Pratt's practical nature in founding the school: "He built facilities for academics, but if that didn't work out, he planned to turn them into a shoe factory," Mr. Pratt said.

That practical nature is embedded in the school's motto: "Be true to your work, and your work will be true to you."

"Pratt kids are more focused on their products than on making people understand them," an alumnus who works at Rockwell Group, Tucker Viemeister, said, adding that he hopes the gala in the fall will help make more people aware of the quality of the people and the work that comes out of Pratt.

agordon@nysun.com