Sotheby’s private viewing of highlights from the art collection of Mrs. Paul Mellon, a salute to the Designer’s Circle and Collective of The San Francisco Fall Antiques Show and an exquisite dinner to celebrate a big announcement by Breguet and the Legion of Honor were among the hautest events this week. Read on for more details plus a look at what’s on tap for next week.

Photos by Drew Altizer Photography

Collectors from across the Bay Area gathered at the home of Kay Kimpton and Sandy Walker for a dinner to view highlights from Sotheby’s upcoming Contemporary Art and American Art sales in November. Among the many stunning pieces gracing the walls were important paintings by Mark Rothko and Richard Diebenkorn from the collection of Mrs. Paul Mellon and a magnificent, iconic Jasper Johns Flag painting estimated to sell between $15-20 million. Rarely seen outside of museums, it is almost unheard of to be able to experience such paintings in an intimate, domestic environment.

After champagne and appetizers, guests of Sotheby’s, JP Morgan Private Bank and Sotheby’s International Realty, including Gary Garrels, Norah and Norman Stone, Jay Xu, Mary Zlot, Mic McGuire and Christina Guevara, Lindsay Bolton, Shelby and Carol Bonnie, Paul Pelosi, Trevor Traina, Ken Fulk, David Shimmon, and Helen and Victoria Raiser, dined under a clear tent on a beautiful night in San Francisco while remarks by the hosts, Kimpton and Sotheby’s Anthony Grant and Jennifer Biederbeck, were given.

 The San Francisco Fall Antiques Show

Photo Credit: Drew Altizer Photography

The HEWN showroom, in the San Francisco Design Center, kicked off the fall party season with a dazzling gold-themed soiree to salute the Designer’s Circle and Collective of The San Francisco Fall Antiques Show, whose 2014 theme is “The Rush of Gold.”
Candace Geiger Band played as guests enjoyed champagne, wine and a signature cocktail along with food by Taste Catering.
Hosts Jeff Holt, Peter West and Kathleen Navarra, co-owners of HEWN, were joined by many local design luminaries including Designer’s Circle Chairwoman, Suzanne Tucker, Paul Vincent Wiseman, Jay Jeffers, Alisa Carroll, Marysia Rybock, Allison Caccoma, Laura Hunt and Gary Hutton along with many other Northern California design luminaries.le

The San Francisco Fall Antiques Show, the oldest and most prestigious continuously operating international art and antiques show on the West Coast, takes place Oct. 23-26 in Fort Mason Center’s Festival Pavilion with the preview gala set for Oct. 22. Dede Wilsey is this year’s honorary chair.

Breguet: Art and Innovation in Watchmaking

The Legion of Honor was the place for watch aficionados to be on Sept. 24 when Breguet put on an exquisite dinner to celebrate its partnership with the San Francisco Fine Arts Museums and announced the arrival of the largest collection of antique watches ever to be shown in the Americas. Breguet: Art and Innovation in Watchmaking, an exhibition that explores the history of the watch and clock maker, will be on view at the Legion of Honor from September 19, 2015 to January 10, 2016.

Those in the know dined on an amuse of Caviar Egg Fabrge, a first course of Marquise of Pacific Crab, an entree of Grill-Smoked Beef Tenderloin and a dessert of Passion Fruit Bavarian. Prior to that, the evening began with cocktails at the Tourbillon Boutique, where VIP guests were given a preview of the exhibition with a rare look at three historic Breguet timepieces: Breguet N°2655, Breguet N°3519 and Breguet N°4111.

Breguet’s cutting-edge innovations transformed the nature of personal timekeeping, and the exhibition will include displays describing the technology that exemplify Abraham-Louis Breguet’s reputation as “the father of modern horology.”

“I am enormously proud of the association between our prestigious institutions: Breguet and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco,” said Marc A. Hayek, president and CEO of Breguet. “With our longstanding tradition of preserving arts and culture around the world, we are thrilled to bring this history-making exhibition to the city of San Francisco.”

Next Week’s Haute Events

Carmen Marc Valvo’s Silver Anniversary Collection

Photo Credit: Frazer Harrison

If you missed celebrated New York designer Carmen Marc Valvo‘s Silver Anniversary Collection show during New York’s Spring 2015 Mercedes Benz Fashion Week because you opted to stay in the Bay Area for the San Francisco Opera Ball, don’t worry. The designer whose elegant dresses have been worn by society’s and Hollywood’s finest recreates the show at the annual Bay Area Arthritis Auxiliary Benefit and Fashion Show on Oct. 1 at the Fairmont San Francisco.

But one special dress that hasn’t made its debut will be seen. When the designer takes his bows at the end of the show, look for Brooke Christian, a 15-year-old Bay Area resident who lives with Juvenile Arthritis and the event’s 2014 Youth Honoree, to walk the runway with him in a one-of-a-kind-dress.

Afterward, Wilkes Bashford hosts a meet and greet reception with the designer at the hotel. Bashford will also host in-store shopping and private appointments with the designer on Thursday, Oct. 2 and Friday, Oct. 3. He’ll donate a percentage of all sales of Carmen Marc Valvo designs to the Arthritis Foundation. Benefactor Chair Elisabeth Thieriot hosts a Benefactor reception honoring Carmen Marc Valvo on Tuesday, Sept. 30 at her home.

Fundraising Gala “Couture for a Cause”

Photo Credit: Drew Altizer Photography

Joy Venturini Bianchi, who works tirelessly to help the developmentally disabled through her charity Helpers, will put on Couture for a Cause, a fundraising gala at The Penthouse, Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco, on Saturday, October 4. She and Tim Whalen of Saks Fifth Avenue curated the fashions, which will be for sale at the event. Bianchi will also give a tour of the curated collection of couture fashions.

Twenty-five mannequins will wear evening and cocktail dresses by Balenciaga, Victoria Beckham, Bill Blass, Chanel, Tom Ford, James Galanos, Naeem Kahn, Lanvin, Ralph Lauren, Isaac Mizrahi, Emilio Pucci, Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Rucci, Valentino and more iconic designers. There will also be a selection of chic new shoes and boots on sale that include Alaïa, Manolo Blahnik, Tom Ford, Christian Louboutin, Roger Vivier, Gianni Versace and YSL. Proceeds from the event, the first of its kind for Helpers, will fund Helpers’ ongoing work in San Francisco and communities for those who are developmentally disabled around the world.

For more information, call (415) 387-3031 or email helperssf@att.net

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