Dede Wilsey and Willie Brown with cast members from “Beach Blanket Babylon” at the 10th anniversary of the new de Young Museum gala in San Francisco.
Photo Credit: Drew Altizer Photography
We’re in the thick of fall, which means the busiest time of the year for San Francisco’s social sect as well. Before we get any deeper into November, we want to catch you up on some recent happenings. We’ve got all of the haute photos from the 10th anniversary gala of the new de Young Museum, a celebration for Joy Venturini Bianchi and the always well-attended preview gala of the Fall Antiques Show.
The New de Young Museum Turns 10
The de Young Museum celebrated the 10th anniversary of its re-opening following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake with an elegant gala attended by Dede Wilsey, president of the Board of Trustees of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, along with other board members including Trevor Traina, Belva Davis and Jack Calhoun, acting director Richard Benefield, Nancy Pelosi, former mayor Willie Brown and many more.
We revisit Wilsey at her Pacific Heights home in our November/December issue, our inaugural philanthropy issue. The fundraising force brought in over $200 million—including $10 million from her own coffer—to rebuild the earthquake-damaged treasure, hence, some people began calling the museum the Dede Young. During our interview she talked about how the de Young proved to be her salvation as her late husband Al Wilsey’s health worsened and after he died in 2002.
“I was so grateful for that project and that I was already doing something that was important to me as he got sicker and sicker and then died,” she recalled. “He died on a Friday, and Monday I was back at the Board of Supervisors. It was very, very difficult, but I probably made one of the best speeches I’ve ever made because I thought I have to. We’d lost all of our permits. Everything had been rescinded behind my back, and then I found about it and thought oh my God. I can’t believe it. Off you go. But it really saved my life and I am very, very grateful. That’s one of the reasons I’m so passionate about the de Young is because it really was my salvation.”
Joy Venturini Bianchi
The always stylish and philanthropic Joy Venturini Bianchi and her haute fashions were in the spotlight as the Board of Director of Helpers put on “Celebrating Life Through Fashion A Retrospective: Collection of Joy Venturini Bianchi,” to benefit those who are developmentally disabled. The evening included a Gary Danko reception and tour of the curated collection, as well as a viewing of the collection, at Hedge Gallery.
San Francisco Fall Antiques Show Opening Night Preview Gala
The San Francisco Fall Antiques Show Opening Night Preview Gala was a smashing success. The gorgeous evening, with stunning collections of art and antiques and the return of the Designer Vignettes (by Fisher Weisman, Allison Caccoma, and Geoffrey De Sousa, set in the Grand Entry Hall display by Ike Kligerman Barkley), was well attended, as always. Honorary Chair Lindsay Joost, Show Chair Suzanne Tucker and Connoisseurs Chair Allison Speer greeted guests, who included Jeffrey Alan Marks, Joy Venturini Bianchi, Jack Calhoun, Pamala and Ted Deikel, Jay Jeffers and Michael Purdy, Gary and OJ Shansby, Tatiana Sorokko, Trevor and Alexis Traina, Diane Adams and Glen Ross of Shreve & Co., and of course Show Director Ariane Trimuschat. 100% of net proceeds from the show benefit Enterprise for High School Students, the San Francisco non-profit that engages and empowers Bay Area high school students to develop skills for their future through job readiness training, employment, and career exploration.
Here’s a look at the hautest photos from those events:
Photo Credit: Drew Altizer Photography
