LongHouse Reserve celebrated its 21^st season and hosted their annual Summer Gala at their 16-acre East Hampton grounds on Saturday, July 21 honoring avant garde visionary, Robert Wilson, with the LongHouse Award, and art historian and President of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, Dorothy Lichtenstein, with the LongHouse Art Leadership Award. The Gala featured a special performance by American Composer Philip Glass in honor of Jack Lenor Larsen’s 85^th birthday.

Robert Wilson is an American avant-garde stage director and playwright, whose creative versatility has given him success as a performer, painter, sculptor, video artist, and sound and lighting designer. He is best known for his collaborations with Philip Glass on Einstein on the Beach, and with numerous artists such as Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, Rufus Wainwright and Marina Abramovic.

Dorothy Lichtenstein is President of the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation, which is dedicated to the encouragement of a broad understanding of the art of her late husband Roy Lichtenstein and the artists of his time. After studying art history at Arcadia University, she became director of the pioneering Bianchini Art Gallery in New York. Dorothy has remained committed to art and culture as she serves on the Board of Studio in a School, the Board of Trustees of the Parrish Art Museum, the Board of Directors of the Trisha Brown Dance Company, the Board of Trustees of the Stony Brook Foundation, and the International Advisory Board of the LongHouse Reserve.

During the gala, there was special performance by composer Philip Glass that took place in the beautiful gardens of LongHouse.

Proceeds raised from the Summer Gala will support the LongHouse Reserve’s mission to exemplify living with art in all forms – a mission Jack Lenor Larsen, one of the world’s foremost advocates of traditional and contemporary crafts began in 1991.

Mark & Elizabeth Levine and Fern & Lenard Tessler were the Chairs for the event. Honorary Chairs included: Edward Albee, Laurie Anderson and Lou Reed, Bill T. Jones, Yoko Ono, Cindy Sherman, Barbara Slifka, Rufus Wainwright and Jorn Weisbrodt. The event began with garden cocktails at 6 p.m. followed by dinner, awards, and an auction.

Notable attendees included: Laurie Anderson & Lou Reed, Dianne Benson, Tina-Marie Birch, Lisa de Kooning, Molly Chappellet (Author), Kim Catrall (Actress),Roberto Dutesco (Photographer), Larry Gagosian, Philip Glass, Marc Glimcher(President of The Pace Gallery), April Gornik (Artist), Bill T. Jones, Jack Lenor Larsen, Dorothy Lichtenstein (Honoree), Robert Menschel and Janet Wallach,  Jenni Muldaur (Singer), Ralph Pucci (Designer), Geoffrey Ross and John Dransfield, Judith Shea (Artist), Barbara Slifka,  Cindy Sherman(Photographer/Director), Annaliese Soros, Matko Tomicic ( Executive Director of LongHouse Reserve), Robert Wilson (Honoree)

The event was sponsored by: Bacardi, Canard, Inc., Classic Party Rentals, Jana Water, Marc Leuthold, Marders, Matt Murphy Event Lighting, Most Holy Trinity Church, Nassau Tents, Ray Smith Assoc., Sensory Lights and Sound, Taylor Creative Inc., The Ocean Group, and Wine Spectator.

About LongHouse Reserve:

LongHouse Reserve exemplifies living with art in all its forms.  Founded by Jack Lenor Larsen, its collections, gardens, sculpture and programs reflect world cultures and inspire a creative life. LongHouse Reserve is a not-for-profit museum that encompasses nearly 16 beautiful acres in East Hampton, New York.  Each year the LongHouse Reserve presents major exhibitions in both the pavilion and the gardens.

Currently, there are more than 60 sculptures for the gardens including works of glass by Dale Chihuly, ceramics by Takaezu, and bronzes by Barceló, Voulkos, Benglis and de Kooning. Works by Ossorio, Claus Bury, Yoko Ono, Opocensky, Izumi Masatoshi, Bryn Hunt, Eric Fischl, Roy Lichtenstein and Takashi Soga are also on view, while the installation of a Fly’s Eye Dome designed by Buckminster Fuller and a site-specific Sol Lewitt add interesting scale and dimension.

LongHouse Reserve will be open from April 28 to October 6, Weds & Sat, 2-5pm, and Weds through Sat, 2-5pm

For more information on LongHouse Reserve visit their website: www.longhouse.org