ARTWALK NY BENEFIT 2009

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"Is that Cameron Diaz?" asked a hopeful young man as he jostled for a glimpse into the packed auction room at last night’s 15th Annual ARTWALK NY benefit, which raised in excess of $650,000 and was attended by over 850 guests. The event marked the most successful in the history of Coalition for the Homeless, the evening’s cause célèbre and one of the city’s most inspiring charities.

 Commanding the stage was not the blonde film-star, but her equally talented look-alike, Eliza Osborne of Sotheby’s. From the crowd’s reaction it could easily have been the former, as rapt attention interspersed with loud applause emanated from the art savvy assemblage, which included Donald Baechler, Anh Duong, Lisa Anastos and Lydia Fenet. Their exuberance stemmed from the impressive collection of works for sale, featuring legendary artists Jeff Koons, John Baldessari, Ed Ruscha, and the evening’s illustrious honoree, Pat Steir. Each of the ten lots was donated by the artists in support of Coalition for the Homeless.

Patrons who were unsuccessful in the live auction found an equally promising opportunity to take home a blue-chip piece in the silent auction, with heavyweight names such as Ross Bleckner, Louise Bourgeouis, and Christopher Wool gracing the walls. Meanwhile co-chairs Alec Baldwin and Carey Lowell, Tate Donovan, and Sam Trammell  of HBO’s True Blood congregated at the enticing tasting tables from NYC mainstays Da Silvano, Indochine, Michael’s and Scuderia. Latecomers Narciso Rodriguez, Catherine Forbes, Lauren Remington Platt, and Minnie Mortimer were greeted by a high-spirited and well-fed crowd, who filled Skylight Studio’s normally cavernous space to capacity well past the party’s scheduled end time. 

 
                      Alec Baldwin                                    Narcisco Rodriguez                                   Carey Lowell                                            Sam Trammell



                 Tate Donovan                           Andres Serrano and Friend                         Kipton Cronkite                               Pat Steir and M. Brosnahan



                  Anh Duong                      A. Churchill, D. Oberland, B. Morrison                            D. Yellin                                           K. Schelter     



                       M. Pean                                                 Alec Baldwin and Carey Lowell                                                        M.Renta, U.Zeller, C. Bell



           N. Kates and J. Artigas                                      Chessy Wilson, I. Knight, Nina Freudenberger                                                  C. Han, T. Weiland



                                           B. Crowe and C. Fremont                                                                                     D. Hartmanand Lauren Remington Platt

Images courtesy of Patrick McMullan and Guest of a Guest.
Top image: Eliza Osborne