O n December 9, the inaugural Creators & Collectors event from Sotheby’s Media gathered leading figures from the worlds of art, design, fashion and philanthropy at the Breuer, Sotheby’s new home in New York. The evening honored five visionaries shaping today’s creative landscape: Peter Marino, Jen Rubio, Thelma Golden, Julian Schnabel and Jon Batiste.
Guests began with cocktails beneath the building’s iconic grid of silver light bulbs—a luminous welcome to Marcel Breuer’s architectural landmark—before moving upstairs to a dinner set among standout pieces from the next morning’s Design auctions, including exceptional Lalanne works from the Schlumberger Collection. Canapés by Acquolina Catering included parmesan crisps shaped like leaves, a playful homage to Claude Lalanne’s “Végétale” mirror.
Kristina O’Neill, head of Sotheby’s Media and editor in chief of Sotheby’s Magazine, opened the evening with remarks addressing each of the visionaries profiled in the first annual Creators & Collectors issue. “Tonight is about celebrating the forces that power our world,” she said, “the creators who push ideas forward, and the collectors whose belief, stewardship and curiosity help those ideas flourish.” Sotheby’s CEO Charles F. Stewart followed with reflections on the sustaining power of community in the worlds of art and culture.
Around the tables, creativity mingled freely. Musicians, models, artists and fashion-world figures—from Lily Allen to Iman, Anna Weyant to Tory Burch—filled the room with conversation and warmth. Midway through dinner, Jon Batiste delivered an intimate interlude, weaving between guests with his melodica before musing on the universal resonance of music.
The culinary finale came in the form of a dessert by conceptual food artist Paris Starn, inspired by the Breuer’s geometric concrete ceiling tiles and echoing the building’s modernist clarity. Edition Hotels crafted a signature cocktail for the occasion, while Tiffany & Co. outfitted François-Xavier Lalanne’s iconic hippo bar, nicknamed “Daisy,” which sold the next morning for $31.4 million—the highest price ever achieved for a work of design at auction. Sotheby’s International Realty, represented by president and CEO Philip White, rounded out the evening’s partners.
As guests departed, they received Tiffany gift bags including delicate madeleines for the next morning—a final touch that captured the spirit of the night. Truly, dinner at Sotheby’s, breakfast from Tiffany’s.
