Gala raises $400,000 for Driehaus Museum

It was a sellout crowd for the Richard H. Driehaus Museum’s inaugural gala Sept. 13, celebrating its 10th anniversary. Set amid the splendor of the restored Nickerson Mansion in the Gold Coast, the event honored Joe Antunovich, an award-winning architect, preservationist and sustainable designer.

Guests checked in at the Murphy Auditorium next door to the museum before heading in for a reception. On the third floor of the beautifully restored Gilded Age mansion, a string quartet entertained VIP attendees as they admired an exhibition that featured artwork and memorabilia from the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.

A second-floor Champagne reception allowed partygoers the opportunity to peruse an exhibition on loan from the New York Historical Society. It featured nearly 60 artworks, including oil paintings by artists such as Rembrandt Peale, John Singer Sargent and William Adolphe Bouguereau, as well as miniatures and bronzes.

A first-floor reception was held amid another exhibit, “Beauty’s Legacy: Gilded Age Portraiture in America,” that showcased paintings of prominent Chicagoans with familiar names, such as McCormick, Field, Pullman and the mansion’s late owner Samuel M. Nickerson and his family.

After the receptions, guests were ushered into the Murphy Auditorium for an elegant seated dinner and program. Emily Pogorelc, a soprano from the Lyric Opera, performed an aria from “Candide” before the master of ceremonies, WTTW-Ch. 11’s Geoffrey Baer, welcomed the crowd.

Baer praised Richard Driehaus and honoree Antunovich for being “leading advocates of preservation” and proving that “old buildings can be beautifully adapted for modern use.” He added, “The greenest buildings are the ones that are already built.”

The event, co-chaired by Patricia Besser and Gary Metzner, raised over $400,000 for the museum. More online

Find more photos and video of this event at www.chicagotribune.com/candidcandace