The
25th annual One Great Night in November 2008, an elegant gentlemen's
black-tie event, was held Wednesday, November 12, 2008 at the Museum
of Fine Arts, Houston, where just over 265 men raised $800,000, and
inspired a pledge from the MFAH board of trustees for an additional
$275,000, for the purchase of art for the museum, bringing in 24
new works of art. Mr. Meredith J. Long and Mr. Fayez S. Sarofim chaired
the benefit evening, and the chairmen's sons served as honorary
chairmen: Mr. Peter K. Jameson, Mr. Melvin “Trey” Allard
Lipsitz III, Mr. Ernest “Bo” Meredith Long, Mr. Edwin
H. Murphy, Mr. J. Cavanaugh O'Leary, Mr. Andrew M. Sarofim,
Mr. Christopher B. Sarofim, Mr. Maxwell A. Sarofim, and Mr. Phillip
J. Sarofim.
The artworks purchased range in date from 900-200 BC to 2008, and
will be housed in the museum's collections of African Art,
Antiquities, Arts of Asia, Arts of the Islamic World, The Bayou Bend
Collection, the Hirsch Library, Modern and Contemporary Art, Modern
and Contemporary Decorative Arts and Design, Photography, Pre-Columbian
Art, Prints and Drawings, and the Rienzi Collection.
Using net revenue from individual and table reservations, the men's
top vote went to purchase Vessel with Deities (900-200 BC), a ceramic
vessel created by people of the Peruvian Paracas culture. This unusually
large container is decorated with representations of an agricultural
fertility deity, whose wide round eyes and “streamers” trailing
from his head identify him as the Oculate Being. Living in one of
the driest deserts of the world, the Paracas culture worshipped deities
to whom they prayed for abundant crops. The “streamers” on
the deity's head may represent the long hard pods of jack beans,
a staple of the ancient Paracas diet. The vessel may have been buried
with a shaman, a powerful man who acted as an intermediary for his
tribe between the natural and supernatural worlds. Following the
vote, the MFAH board of trustees committed to pledge an additional
$275,000 toward the purchase of this object, bringing the night's
proceeds to $1,075,000.
The silver anniversary celebration began at 6:30 p.m. in Cullinan
Hall in the museum's Caroline Wiess Law Building, where guests
enjoyed a cocktail reception and viewing of Saluting a Texas Treasure:
The Sporting Art of John P. Cowan, an exhibition of 30 paintings
by the late John P. “Jack” Cowan, organized by MFAH
curator of American art and painting, Emily Neff. Many of Cowan's
friends, the “who's who” of the Houston sporting
scene, recognized depictions of themselves saltwater fishing or bird
hunting in Cowan's sporting art. Wines were generously underwritten
by the chairmen, Mr. Long and Mr. Sarofim.
After the opening reception, the men were able to preview and vote
on artworks. A seated dinner catered by City Kitchen featured a first
course of corn soufflé with jumbo lump crab meat, sherry and
chives; followed by grilled veal chop with chanterelle mushrooms
and sides of harvester green beans, broiled tomato, Louisiana jasmine
rice, and assorted breads. Cigars generously donated by Jeffrey Stone
Ltd. concluded the evening.
In addition to the chairmen and honorary chairmen, the evening's
guests included MFAH Director Peter C. Marzio, Mr. Robert C. McNair,
Mr. Ralph Eads III, Mr. James C. Flores, Mr. Charles W. Duncan, Jr.,
Mr. Meredith Cullen, Mr. Joseph D. McCord, Mr. James Robert Crane,
Mr. Frank J. Hevrdejs, Mr. H. Lee Godfrey, Mr. Alfred Glassell III,
Mr. Berdon Lawrence, Mr. Mike Linn, Mr, Jeff Hildebrand, Mr. Tony
Petrello, Mr. Reed Morian, Mr. Scott Arnoldy, and Mr. John Loring.
