A gala reception was held on May 21st at the extraordinary Carlton Hobbs Gallery on East 93rd Street to honor the National Committee of The Mount, the historic home of Edith Wharton. The festive evening was launched and co-hosted by architectural historian and longtime trustee Pauline Metcalf and fellow trustee Gigi Wilmers, an art historian and author. Susan Wissler, the Executive Director of The Mount, spoke about the remarkable year-long celebration of Edith Wharton’s 150th Birthday. Throughout the evening, the guests were also greeted by Carlton Hobbs, one of the world’s foremost antique dealers, who co-owns the gallery with Stefanie Rinza.
The guests included: Pulitzer Prize winner Jennifer Egan; Mario Buatta, one of America’s foremost decorators; Edward Lee Cave, real estate maven and art expert; Morrison Heckscher, the Chairman of the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Thomas Jayne, designer and scholar; Sam White, architect and descendant of Stanford White, and editor Elizabeth White; Anthony Wood, New York preservation activist; Michael Simon, interior designer and Mount trustee; Rohit Desai, financier; Theresa Behrendt, senior international strategist and advisor; Georgia Shreve, composer and writer; and Stephanie Stokes, interior designer and author.