The Frick Collection’s Autumn Dinner Honored Architect Annabelle Selldorf

On Tuesday evening, guests made their way uptown to join the Frick Collection for its Autumn Dinner, celebrating German architect Annabelle Selldorf. For the museum’s first iteration of the annual event since Selldorf’s five-year renovation was completed last year, the black-tie soirée was anchored by an intimate cocktail reception in the James S. and Barbara N. Reibel Reception Hall and a seated dinner in the first-floor galleries.

As trailing gowns and sharp suits drifted through the museum’s hallowed halls and over parquet floors, wrapping around the Garden Court’s iconic fountain and through the Fragonard Room, attendees—including the gala’s co-chairs Margot and Jerry Bogert, benefactor Sofia A. Blanchard, and benefit committee members Judy and Jamie Dimon—reunited over flutes of Ruinart Champagne as conversation reverberated around the normally quiet rooms.

As guests huddled in front of Renaissance masterpieces, all topics drew back to Selldorf’s breathtaking renovation—the museum’s most comprehensive upgrade in ninety years, which restored its historic spaces, increased accessibility, and created new rooms for public programming, including second-floor galleries, a sweeping auditorium, a gift shop, and a well-decorated café.

Attendees took their seats, surrounded by renowned Old Master paintings—a self-portrait by Rembrandt, Mistress and Maid by Jan Vermeer, and St. Francis in the Desert by Giovanni Bellini—on emerald-green walls. The atmosphere felt warm and celebratory, yet poised and proper, with the glowing laylight ceiling above in dialogue with a rich chocolate-brown tablescape by Marfala below. The ethereal table, dotted with vases of overflowing lilies and mushroom-shaped lights, also played backdrop for minaudières and beaded pochettes, as well as folded hands resting at the table edge, waiting for applause.

“After last year’s opening gala, we are so happy to host the first annual Autumn Dinner back in our beautiful galleries, in the Frick’s renovated home,” said Elizabeth Mugar Eveillard, the chair of the Board of Trustees of the Frick Collection. “There is so much to be celebrated. The renovation is still very much front and center of the Frick. The revitalization of our building has been such a gift to the institution and we’ve been so gratified by the warm response by museum-goers in New York, and around the country and the world.”

Praise for Selldorf and her award-winning renovation was shown through clinking glasses, applause, and smiles around the room, as waiters in single file arrived with decadent dishes. Over dinner, table conversation continued about younger audiences, emerging patronage, and Selldorf’s fitting role—all parts of the Frick’s new history.

“Annabelle was the perfect choice for this renovation,” said Monika McLennan, a longtime Frick trustee, who also sits on the board of the World Monuments Fund alongside Selldorf. “She is an incredible woman who has a strong appreciation for cultural heritage and preserving history.”  

Other attendees emphasized the Frick’s interest in reaching the next generation, such as pastry chef Rula Lutfi—dressed in Ronny Kobo and adorned in Graff, Cartier, and Van Cleef & Arpels—who has been a Young Fellow for just under two years. “I love it here. It’s so beautiful,” she said. “It’s iconic New York, and Selldorf’s renovation has brought the Gilded Age to the new age.”

As desserts began to trickle out, from miniature gingersnap cookies and truffles to individual chocolate mousse cakes and scoops of sorbet, Axel Rüger, the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Director, took the stage. “‘Impressive’ doesn’t begin to capture Annabelle’s resume and the list of accolades,” he shared. “She is truly a leader and visionary in the field of architecture and culture at large. With her many projects, including the Frick collection and the National Gallery in London, she is now embarking on the great treasure of France, the Louvre, and a new home for the Mona Lisa. We are extremely proud to count Annabelle as our architect. She managed to balance so beautifully the preservation of Mr. Frick’s vision of the mansion.”

To complete the night, Selldorf arrived on stage to share a few personal words, reflecting on her renovation for the Frick and being this year’s esteemed honoree. “It is a very happy moment to celebrate the project of expansion and renovation of this very building. I venture to guess that if it hadn’t turned out well, I would not be standing here tonight. It did turn out well—even better than well,” she said with a laugh.

“Frankly, I never thought it could be otherwise, though it was a complicated, long, and complex process from which I have learned so much. Even now, 18 months since the Frick opened its doors to the public again, I receive many compliments for the beautiful project and I gratefully accept them, knowing all too well that I am only one amongst so many people who contributed to its success. It would not have come to be without so many people’s passion, talent, expertise, dedication, and unabated persistence. The saying is: ‘It takes a village.’ In this case, I think it needs to be modified to say, ‘It takes a city.’”