Deeda’s Day

“I never wanted to write a book,” confessed society doyenne Deeda Blair on Thursday. “I was always more interested in reading than writing.”

Her latest project begs to differ.

Blair, bouffant and all, held court at a luncheon at Christie’s in New York on Thursday to celebrate the release of “Deeda Blair:

Food, Flowers & Fantasy,” her coffee-table book published by Rizzoli in November.

The tome’s subject matter ranges from recipes and table settings to vignettes from Blair’s life as a globetrotting socialite. The book’s proceeds, though, pay homage to her philanthropy: They benefit the Deeda

Blair Research Initiative for Disorders of the Brain, which she established in 2016 with the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health.

“It’s ostensibly about food and entertaining, but it’s so much more. It’s a rallying cry for so many of the scientific causes for which Deeda has devoted so much passion and her life to: from brain disorders to AIDS and cancer,” said Will Stratford, a deputy chairman at the auction house, at the start of the meal.

Attendees included Christie’s brass as well as Aerin Lauder, Lauren Santo Domingo, Adam Lippes, Daniel Romualdez and Bob Colacello.

“She has an amazing sense of style, she’s warm and elegant,” Lauder said of Blair. “I met her through friends, and she is such an inspiration in every aspect.”

To that end, Jennifer Hall,

vice chairman of Christie’s, said Blair’s encyclopedic knowledge of art and history was the bedrock of their relationship. “Christie’s loves her so much because while she is known for her fashion, her knowledge of art, literature and history is bar none,” she said. “She applies that same beautiful mind to her research in science.”

— JAMES MANSO