Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s Artful Affairs Autumn Dinner

The Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) Board of Trustees held its sponsor supported Black Tie Autumn Dinner titled “Art’s Artful Affairs: Seasons of Change” at the museum on Wednesday, November 15, from 5:30 to 9 pm.

The elegant event commenced with a champagne and wine reception in the museum’s Ludington Court Gallery amidst the fine antiquities collection of sculptures. The evening was abuzz with key sponsors and their guests coming together for an exclusive affair that highlighted works of art paired with wines, a four-course dinner, and an After Dinner lounge experience with fine port and cheese hors d’oeuvres. It is noted that the wines and port were white!

The event speakers, Board of Trustees Chair Nicholas Mutton and Amada Cruz, the newly appointed Eichholz Foundation Director, were unable to attend. In their place, Event Co-Chair and Board of Trustees member Martha Townsend gave the welcoming remarks and paid homage to both Mutton and Cruz. She read a note from Cruz who said she is looking forward to the next event to meet the museum’s supporters.

From there, we moved to the Ridley-Tree Gallery for dinner where docents held court around the artworks. I was fortunate to be seated next to SBMA Deputy Director and Chief Curator Eik Kahng at Robert Castle’s table of friends, which included his guest Fran Morrow, and Stephen W. Clark – Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary to the Board of Trustees for the J. Paul Getty Museum – with his wife, Karen.

The event program provided an insightful narration on a selection of art from the 14 key works in the gallery. The core message is to invite viewers to a new level of interacting with and experiencing art at the museum: “Spotlighting the Seasons of Change, it is Autumn, and there is power and transformation through art, stay inspired!” Works highlighted included Ansel Adams’ black and white photograph titled, Leaf Glacier Bay (1948), the six-fold screen color and ink of gold leaf by anonymous machi-eshi, or “town painters” in Kyoto; and from the Hudson River School of Landscape Artists, a painting by Jasper Francis Cropsey titled, Janetta Falls, Passaic County, New Jersey (August 9, 1846).

Attendees included Betsy, Martha,and Bruce Atwater; Merryl and Chuck Zegar; SBMA Board of Trustees Secretary Lynn Cunningham Brown and member Chris Brown; T.V. Executive Sheraton Kalouria; Board of Trustees Treasurer of Casa del Herrero Gary Bradhering; Anne Towbes; philanthropists Mike and Carol Linn; andHonorary Committee Chair Kandy Luria-Budgor.

The Event Committee members are Karen Brill, Kathleen Feldstein, Christian McGrath, Jeanne Towles, Lynn Cunningham Brown, Michael C. Linn, Nicholas Mutton,and Gregg Wilson.

Check the museum’s website for the next artful dinner event in 2024!

411: www.sbma.net