PHOTOS

On Tuesday, April 12 the American Friends of Museums in Israel's Annual Gala Cocktail Reception and Auction was held at the Core Club in New York City. Thomas Ruff was named "Artist of the Year", Guests of Honor included Pritzker Prize Winner and artist, Richard Meier; Eilat Lieber, General Director and Chief Curator of the Tower of David Jerusalem Museum; and Nissim Tal, Director General of the Haifa Museums in Israel.

The cocktail reception was kept lively with enthusiastic guests circling around the striking array of silent and live auction works, powered by Paddle8, by accomplished artists including: Francesco Clemente, Richard Estes, Carole Feuerman, Nan Goldin, Robert Indiana, Richard Meier, Robert Rauschenberg, Thomas Ruff, Hermann Struck, Andy Warhol, and Tom Wesselmann among others. Artist, Clayton Calvert, completed a work of art on stage and guests were invited to bid on the work at the end of the evening.

Organized by Enid Shapiro, Executive Director, American Friends of Museums in Israel, the Gala Cocktail Reception evening was held in celebration of the organization's partnerships with eight outstanding museums in Israel. Partner museums are: Design Museum Holon, Haifa City Museum, Haifa Museum of Art, Hermann Struck Museum, Mané-Katz Museum, National Maritime Museum, Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art, and Tower of David Jerusalem Museum.

Guests in attendance included: Nathan A. Bernstein and Katharina Otto-Bernstein, Dorothy Berwin, Ed Blank and Marta Gucovsky, David De Buck, Justine Durrett, Jane Ann Holzer, Richard Meier, Carol Penn, Amy and George Roland, Martin and Susan Sanders, Hanna Schouwink, Jennifer Stockman, Joel Wachs.

With festive hors d’oeuvres and a signature cocktail by the Core Club’s mixologists, David Genser, Chairman, American Friends of Museums in Israel, warmly welcomed guests and encouraged attendees to bid high and often!

The American Friends of Museums in Israel recognizes, promotes, and honors its outstanding partner museums in Israel by providing exhibition, program, project and financial support through the generosity of its donors. In addition, the organization offers heightened visibility for its partner museums at special events, including annual galas in New York.