Out & About
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
In a city of a dozen fund-raising dinners a night, hosts are often generous with their “thank-yous” – sometimes too generous, as when the thank-yous drag on and all the guests want to do is crawl into bed.
But the “thank-you dinner” is another thing entirely. At these events, the gratitude is inherent because the job is done, presumably to someone’s satisfaction.
The School of Visual Arts held such a dinner last week to thank the 40 photographers, photo editors, art dealers, and publishers who serve as mentors to seniors in the photography department. The yearlong relationship takes various shapes and culminates with students exhibiting a portfolio of work at the school.
The chairman of the BFA photography department at the school, Stephen Frailey, matches students and professionals based on area of interest, personality, and career focus. Mr. Frailey assembled an impressive group of mentors and picked an impressive restaurant, the Modern, to thank them.
“When you’re lucky enough to have some of the world’s greatest photography talent as mentors, you want to show your appreciation in a way that’s memorable,” Mr. Frailey said. “We wanted to host a dinner that reflected the same leadership and generosity they’ve shown the students.”
Those assembled were a who’s who of New York art and fashion photography, among them the well-known photo retoucher Pascal Dangin; art dealers Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, Julie Saul, Michael Foley, and W.M. Hunt; photographers Taryn Simon, Joel Sternfeld, and Dana Hoey; the editor of Photograph magazine, Bill Mindlin, and the director of photography at Life magazine, George Pitts.
***
She’s smart, beautiful, and through a few select projects, she’s trying to make a difference in the arts world in New York. Anne Maffei is a businesswoman with the heart of an artist and many artist friends. So it was a natural step when she moved into her SoHo loft that she would fill it with art. Actually, she has bigger idea up her sleeve: Along with her friend Victoria Donner, a former film producer who is now an artists’ representative, she is launching V&A Gallery. The lease on a great downtown location isn’t signed yet, so instead, the pair turned Ms. Maffei’s housewarming party into a low-key V&A Gallery opening. While efficient, the party was also a lot of fun. Though the art was wonderful, I have to admit, my favorite view was of Ms. Maffei’s amazing, room-length, double-decker closet full of clothes.
