The 2021 Met Acquisitions Gala Felt Like Old New York Again

Since re-opening its doors last August, The Metropolitan Museum of Art has been more bustling than ever. And with this new chapter comes a renewed love for New York City’s most iconic cultural centerpiece, along with a wave of acquisitions to the museum’s hallowed walls and galleries.

These new arrivals were celebrated Tuesday night at the museum’s 2021 Acquisitions Gala, which also served as the debut for a fresh group of co-chairs: Samantha Boardman, Amy Griffin, Dasha Zhukova Niarchos, Gina Peterson, and Ann G. Tenenbaum. Together, they rallied their closest friends from the city’s modern art, fashion, publishing, and financing intelligentsia, including Tory Burch, Jeff Koons, and Leonard A. Lauder, along with a cohort of young supporters like Jeremy O Harris, Antwaun Sargent, Brett Heyman, Jordan Casteel, Derek Blasberg, and Nick Brown. Led by the new co-chairs, the group plans to give the fundraiser—one of the museum’s most important—new life. 

Lauren Santo Domingo took her style cues from the late Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, selecting a black satin Emilia Wickstead gown and gloves for the occasion—a near-exact replica of Kennedy’s ensemble worn to the Municipal Art Society Gala in 1998. “It’s a special night, very old school NYC,” Santo Domingo told Vogue, alongside artist and jeweler Ana Khouri, who had designed her gold and diamond-encrusted minaudière for the occasion. “I’ve been feeling nostalgic lately, so perhaps this is the Met’s version of Y2K nostalgia.” 

The evening’s decor, produced by Bronson van Wyck, followed suit, starting with a flashy white peacock in the museum’s rotunda that greeted guests upon arrival. “These days, people would rather stay home than go to another gala,” van Wyck quipped to us as crooner John Holiday, slated to make his debut at The Metropolitan Opera this weekend, performed for guests during cocktail hour. “The food’s better, the lighting’s better, and the seats are more comfortable. So, we fixed all those things with some of the best chefs in the city, almost 3,000 candles, and velvet-covered banquettes and couches. Plus, you get to see your friends.” 

Dinner took place in the museum’s Temple of Dendur, which, true to van Wyck’s plan, had been reimagined into a sort of swank dinner club, where Alexis Traina and Nina Hollein mingled with Christy Turlington and Ed Burns. A wedge salad and a New York Strip by Gage Tollner were served as the candlelight danced in the temple’s surrounding reflecting pool. “This is a fantastic family reunion,” Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Max Hollein, told guests after a performance by chanteuse Mikaela Bennett. “I wanted to extend thanks to our co-chairs, who are really a group of female power that have completely transformed this event, and you’re not allowed to only do it this year. You have to do it the next ten years.”