On
Tuesday, November 17, 2009, the Museum of Arts
and Design (MAD) hosted
its 2009 Visionaries! Gala honoring three women for their extraordinary
achievements and contributions to arts, design, and industry.
The 2009
honorees were: Barbara Tober, longtime patron of the
arts and the Museum's Chairman of the Board; Shelly Lazarus,
leading business executive and Chairman of Ogilvy and Mather Worldwide;
and Eva
Zeisel, one of
the foremost designers of the 20th century.
The Museum's annual gala
began with a cocktail reception and a silent auction at 6:30 p.m.,
followed by the awards ceremony, dinner, and dancing at 7:45 p.m. at
the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York City.
The Museum’s Visionaries!
gala is the Museum’s most important annual fundraiser supporting
the Museum’s exhibitions and educational programs. More than
500 guests including Leonard and Evelyn
Lauder, Ambassador Donald Blinken,
Vera Blinken, Jonathan and Somers
Farkas, Terre Blair Hamlisch, William
Mitchell, and Fran Weisler attended the event which raised
$1.4 million in income. Event co-chairs for this year’s
gala were Susanne Durst, Suzanne Elizabeth Murphy,
Jean Richards and
Miles Young.
