PHOTOS: Inside the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art Gala

Alex Katz, Katherine Brinson and Anne Helmreich. Casey Kelbaugh / CKA

Last year, the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art (known colloquially as the Archives) marked its seventieth anniversary with a special celebration at New York’s Rainbow Room that honored Senga Nengudi, Richard Tuttle and Ann Philbin. This year’s gala was a lower-profile affair, but only marginally. Hosted at the Frick Collection, the gala unofficially opened with a private prelude moment on the museum’s upper floor for trustees and honorees before doors opened to all at six for cocktails and conversation. As the sun dipped below the skyline, guests made their way to the Frick’s new auditorium for the award presentations, followed by a lively seated dinner and dessert reception.

Established in 1954, the Archives is the world’s largest repository dedicated to collecting, preserving and sharing primary sources that chronicle the history of visual arts in the United States. During the evening, director Anne Helmreich echoed a sentiment shared by artist Glenn Ligon at the 2017 gala that resonated especially strongly in today’s political climate: “We need the Archives of American Art for many, many reasons, but the most important one for me is to preserve the memories that we have until we are ready to receive them.”

This year’s honorees were Alex Katz, Adam D. Weinberg and—perhaps unexpectedly—Bank of America, all recognized for pivotal contributions to the arts. Katz received the Archives of American Art Medal, Weinberg was awarded the Lawrence A. Fleischman Award for Scholarly Excellence in the Field of American Art History and Bank of America received the Archives of American Art Award for Philanthropic Leadership. (For those unaware, the bank supports global art conservation projects, including the recent preservation of a mural by Diego Rivera and the conservation of Jackson Pollock’s Sea Change.)

“The board of the Archives of American Art believes that now, more than ever, saving the stories of American artists matters,” said Alexandra May, chair of the board—and we couldn’t agree more.

Anne Helmreich and Adam Weinberg. Casey Kelbaugh / CKA

The guest list reflected the significance of the occasion. VIPs in attendance included Richard Armstrong (director emeritus of the Guggenheim), art historian and Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen director at the Frick Axel Rüger, Guggenheim curator Katherine Brinson, collector and patron Beth Rudin DeWoody, collector Carla Shen, architect Kulapat Yantrasast, legendary British designer Dame Zandra Rhodes and Bon Appétit editor-in-chief Jamila Robinson, among many others.

Artists present at the Frick that night included Adam Mcewen, Gajin Fujita, Colin Lee, Darren Waterston, Hope Atherton, Jeffrey Meris, David Novros and Kendall Messick. The dealers were out in force as well—spotted were Michael Rosenfeld and halley k. harrisburg of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery; Paula Cooper, Steve Henry and Lucas Cooper of Paula Cooper Gallery; Gavin Brown and Trina Gordon of Gladstone Gallery; James Danziger of Danziger Gallery; and Jonathan Boos of Jonathan Boos Gallery.