Out & About
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A Dutiful Son Loves His MoMA
Being a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art isn’t just about writing checks and going to galas, the museum’s president, Marie-Josee Kravis, said at MoMA’s annual Party in the Garden Tuesday night.
Since there were dozens within earshot who serve on numerous museum boards and know exactly what is involved, Ms. Kravis’s remarks were apparently intended for the thousand or so younger, less experienced people in the room, many of whom were filling seats paid for by their elders. And by honoring boyish-faced Leon Black, the founder of private equity powerhouse Apollo Management, Ms. Kravis offered up an excellent role model to inspire that crowd.
She noted the long hours Mr. Black puts in every day as the chairman of the museum’s investment committee, as well as the serious discussions on the future of the collections he leads as the chairman of the sculpture committee.
“I love working with you and I applaud your commitment to this institution,” Ms. Kravis said.
Mr. Black told his story with finesse. “I first came here as a little boy with my mother. We saw ‘Les Demoiselles d’Avignon’ together. She wanted to show how the transition to abstraction really worked,” he said.
At age 13, he bought his first work of art, a Milton Avery drawing, with bar mitzvah money. “I got the family discount of 10%. It took me years to learn most buyers get 12% to 15%.”
And then came the call: “Fundraising shouldn’t be an honor. It’s a responsibility, ” he said, “especially given the success many of us in private equity and hedge funds are enjoying.
“It’s the smart thing to do. It’s the right thing to do, and I know my colleagues here in this room, Stephen Schwarzman and Henry Kravis, believe the same thing,” he added, referring to the founder of the Blackstone Group, who is the chairman of the Kennedy Center and a trustee of the Frick Collection, and to the co-founder of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., who is a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
There wasn’t much time to ponder Mr. Black’s message, however, since the gathering was quickly moved outside to the garden for a performance by a new talent, Chrisette Michele, who belted a few classics and some of her own songs from her first album, “I Am,” coming in June from Def Jam Records.
The Richard Serra sculptures in the garden, part of an exhibit opening on June 3, did offer a few guests moments for contemplation.
The event, which raised $3.1 million, also honored film director Martin Scorsese.
