Before Biennial Closes, Whitney Draws Katie Holmes, A-List Art Crowd f

Before Biennial Closes, Whitney Draws Katie Holmes, A-List Art Crowd for One Last Hurrah

Museum galas tend to be stiff, dignified affairs where not much happens except very serious people pontificate about the importance of art in these turbulent political times, tuxedoed patrons pay tribute to tuxedoed board members, and a few fabulous young people, usually colorfully dressed artists, are thrown into the mix to liven things up. Well, the Whitney Museum of American Art took things up a notch on Tuesday night, perhaps the end of its Biennial next month. In between the artists (Jeff Koons, Larry Bell, Raúl de Nieves), the philanthropists (Laurie Tisch, Brooke Garber Neidich, and Neil Bluhm, who was being honored), there was a sizzling cohort that wouldn’t have felt out of place at a fashion party, surely thanks to the fact that Michael Kors and Audi were among the evening’s sponsors. Besides Alek Wek, spectacular in a white Kors suit, there was also Hilary Rhoda, Katie Holmes, Cleo Wade, Gabriel-Kane Day-Lewis, and Paul Sevigny, who seemed to be having a ball with another figure from the early Aughts, Cory Kennedy. In the end, the museum raised $5.1 million, though no word yet on how much Kennedy pitched in.

May 24, 2017 6:57 pm

The Whitney Museum celebrates : the 2017 Annual Gala and Studio Party

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Katie Holmes attends the Whitney Museum’s annual Spring Gala and Studio Party 2017. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for Whitney Museum)

Whitney Museum Celebrates Annual Spring Gala And Studio Party 2017 Sponsored By Audi And Michael Kors

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Paul Sevigny and Cory Kennedy attend the Whitney Museum’s annual Spring Gala and Studio Party 2017. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

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Pamela Katz attends the Whitney Museum’s annual Spring Gala and Studio Party 2017. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for Whitney Museum)

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Alek Wek, in Michael Kors, attends the Whitney Museum’s annual Spring Gala and Studio Party 2017. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for Whitney Museum)

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Guests attend the Whitney Museum’s annual Spring Gala and Studio Party 2017. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for Whitney Museum)

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Hilary Rhoda attends the Whitney Museum’s annual Spring Gala and Studio Party 2017. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for Whitney Museum)

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Ruby Aldridge attends the Whitney Museum’s annual Spring Gala and Studio Party 2017. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for Whitney Museum)

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Gabriel-Kane Day-Lewis attends the Whitney Museum’s annual Spring Gala and Studio Party 2017. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for Whitney Museum)

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Kitty Cash attends the Whitney Museum’s annual Spring Gala and Studio Party 2017. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for Whitney Museum)

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Jessica Clements attends the Whitney Museum’s annual Spring Gala and Studio Party 2017. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for Whitney Museum)

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TK Wonder, Cipriana Quann attend the Whitney Museum’s annual Spring Gala and Studio Party 2017. (Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for Whitney Museum)