de Young Hosts Donors at Tamara de Lempicka Preview

On October 10, more than 400 of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s donors gathered at the de Young for a magnificent start to the Museums’ 2024-2025 Exhibition Season: a preview of the new retrospective of Art Deco artist Tamara de Lempicka. This landmark exhibition, the artist’s first major U.S. museum retrospective features more than one hundred of Lempicka’s works, highlighting her distinctive style and the glamor of the Art Deco era.

Partygoers embraced the night’s Art Deco theme, donning cocktail attire that reflected the decadence of the iconic era. The event featured live jazz music performed by students from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, catering by McCalls, and a selection of California wines from Jackson Family Wines. VIPs on hand for the festivities included Dede Wilsey, Aída Álvarez, Alexandria Ashdown, Bettina Bryant, Jack Calhoun, Stanlee Gatti, Austin Ligon, Elizabeth Minick, David Shimmon and wife Mary Beth Shimmon and the artist’s great-granddaughter Marisa de Lempicka. 

Recognized as the defining portrait painter of her time, Lempicka encapsulated the vitality of the Roaring Twenties and the allure of Hollywood celebrity in her bold, iconic portraits. Her art seamlessly blended European pictorial traditions with the frenetic energy of American modernity, creating a memorable aesthetic that continues to inspire. The Tamara de Lempicka Retrospective can be viewed at the de Young through February 9, 2025.