How much would you pay to commission a portrait by Karen Kilimnik? Last night, the New
Museum found out. At its UnGala at Seven World Trade Center, one party-goer agreed to shell out $260,000. That did a lot to push the New Museum’s total take last night to $1.2 million; 550 people attended, the museum says.
The museum won’t say exactly how that total compares with last year’s, except that it’s “very close” to its 2008 experience. But unless a blast email from the New Museum on Tuesday saying a “limited number of seats are still available” to the gala worked wonders, it wasn’t sold out.
So it looks like Kilimnik, whose work sells for $80,000 to $500,000, was critical to the evening’s success. Last year, the New Museum auctioned smaller objects, not one big painting, and they fetched less.
Kilimnik’s offer to paint a “historical portrait inspired by the sitter” is generous for another reason. She rarely does this kind of work. The last commissioned portrait was 11 years ago, according to 303 Gallery, which said famous people are always asking her to paint them. The New Museum says there were many bidders last night.
So who’s the winner, who was also critical to the event? The museum won’t say. Maybe someday we’ll see the results of the match.
The gala season in New York is in full swing, and I’ve been talking to other arts organizations about fund-raising lately. Most say their donations are down, but perhaps by less than expected, given the state of the economy. They are not anywhere near to making up what’s been lost in their endowments, but they may be able to stave off additional cutbacks.
Credits: “my nephews in germany by winterhalter,” 2009 (top); “a Madonna from Italian church on the Lost Island,” 2008, by Karen Kilimnik. Courtesy of New Museum and 303 Gallery.