The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco capped a celebratory year with a spirited dinner dance
Words by CATHERINE BIGELOW
Photography by DREW ALTIZER PHOTOGRAPHY
It was a banner year for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco: More than 400,000 fans visited freshly installed galleries at the storied Legion of Honor during its recently concluded centennial season. Patrons also donated some 2,000 works to Legion’s Gifts of Art campaign to bolster its permanent European collections. Over in Golden Gate Park at the de Young Museum, Art of Manga (through Jan. 25) — the first large-scale exhibition in North America of this dynamic art form — is breaking all attendance records. In October, the de Young also celebrated the 20th anniversary of its state-of-the-art Herzog & de Meuron copper-clad building (which replaced the original 1894 structure) while lauding the skillful wallet-wrangling efforts of dynamo Dede Wilsey, the devoted FAM leader who raised a whopping $200 million for the museum’s vigorous revamp.
So it was only fitting that these FAM super supporters earned a night off on Tuesday, December 9, at The Elegant Evening in the Court of Honor. This black-tie dinner-dance, starring the big band tunes of The Bob Hardwick Sound orchestra, is a beloved holiday tradition dating back to the 1970s.
Following a cocktail confab and gallery viewing of the exquisitely ethereal Manet & Morisot exhibition (through March 2026), the 220 glam guests were itching to cut a rug on the parquet dance floor.
Among the revelers: FAM board president Lorna Meyer Calas and trustees, including Stanlee Gatti, Max Boyer Glynn, and David Shimmon; CA Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis; San Francisco’s “forever” mayor Willie Brown; dapper Paul Pelosi; SF Opera poobahs, including General Director Matthew Shilvock, board president Jack Calhoun, and board chairwoman Barbara Wolfe; SF Protocol Chief Penny Coulter; Farah and Victor Makras; Sonya Molodetskaya; and arts philanthropists Judy and George Marcus.
Held beneath a clear tent atop the Legion’s Thinker’s Courtyard, designer J. Riccardo Benavides set a gorgeous scene, rife with Christmas trees, oversize ornaments, hanging lanterns, and ruby red tablescapes, all adorned by boughs and red berries. McCalls Catering & Events served a masterful menu (butternut bisque, filet mignon, a cheese course, and holiday trifle dessert) paired with both primo vino and tins filled briny dollops of The Caviar Co.’s finest.
Technically speaking, Elegant Evening is a fundraiser for the museum’s arts and education programs. However, this joyful fete is delightfully void of speechifying, pledge pleas, or paddle raises. And as Sigmund Freud might have never said, Sometimes a party is just a damn fine party.
December 23, 2025
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