Diplomats, Politicos & Philanthropists Fete Annual Phillips Collection Gala!

NORTHWEST -- While The Phillips Collection’s annual gala might not be the largest of all of Washington’s black tie museum fundraisers, the guest list to the event certainly is one of the most prestigious, with some 400 members of the city’s cultural, political, diplomatic, business, and philanthropic circles in attendance.

And on Friday evening, these fervent supporters descended en masse to the museum, for an elegant all-night event. Kicking-off the program was an intimate cocktail reception on the Phillips’ ground floor and outdoor patio area, followed by a brief series of welcoming remarks by Board Chairman George Vradenburg and museum Director Dorothy Kosinski.

Gala Host Bruce Tanner, Lockheed Martin EVP and CFO, and Phillips Board Chairman George Vradenburg.
Clarice Smith, this year’s gala honoree, was then formally introduced to guests and recognized for her philanthropy and commitment to the arts and art education. Such a focus by Smith was particularly pertinent to the occasion, given that the fundraiser’s primary beneficiary was the Collection’s education programs that reach 180,000 children, teachers, and families across the country each year.

Phillips Director Dorothy Kosinski introduces Gala Honoree Clarice Smith.
Guests were then free to enjoy a full gourmet dinner surrounded by some of the world’s most distinguished impressionist, modern, and contemporary works of art throughout the museum’s intimate galleries.

D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray (right).
Notables spotted mingling about the event included Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, and more than two dozen Congressmen, Ambassadors, and senior members of both the current and previous White House administrations.

Ambassador of Switzerland Manuel Sager and his wife, Mrs. Christine Sager.
A testament to the truly festive nature of the evening, many of the dinner’s VIPs chose to make the short walk to The Society of the Cincinnati’s neighboring Anderson House after dinner for the Gala’s official after party, where they were joined by a mostly younger group of museum supporters.

Former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff hits the dance floor.

Freshly rolled cigars were a favorite attraction at the after party.
Boasting a “Havana Nights” theme, everyone then proceeded to salsa the night away on the historic ballroom’s dance floor, only pausing for the occasional rum drink, Cuban sweet or freshly rolled cigar.

French Ambassador Francois Delattre.

Muy museum caliente!