The eminent photographer William Eggleston celebrated his first major New York museum show since 1976 with an intimate dinner at the Whitney Museum of American Art last night. Looking dapper in a bright green bow tie, Eggleston, legendary almost as much for his partying as for his spare, off-kilter images, imbibed as fans like Juergen Teller, Dennis Hopper (below left) and Patti Smith (below right) paid tribute. Brooke Garber Neidich, co-chairman of the Whitney's board of trustees, was tickled that when introduced to Eggleston, who was raised on the Mississippi Delta and lives in Memphis, Tennessee, he called her "darlin'" and asked her to get him a drink. The show itself is no less charming. Large but well edited, it hits all the high points of Eggleston's career. One guest was overheard telling Hopper with ironic understatement, "There are some nice pictures here."
Read the William Eggleston feature from our 2008 Art Issue here.
