Dining room, Gala 2023. Photo: François-Xavier Watine, WebStyleStory, for AFMO

Photo: François-Xavier Watine, WebStyleStory

AFMO Annual Gala Weekend

A Weekend in Paris

Thursday, October 19 thru Monday, October 23, 2023

Like every year, AFMO hosted its Gala weekend in Paris with a unique program of beautiful visits and events, culminating with its gala evening at the Musée d’Orsay on Saturday, October 21, 2023. Both events are held in support of the Musée d’Orsay and Musée de l’Orangerie.

From Paris to Auvers, an evening celebration at the Musée d’Orsay

This year’s Gala evening was inspired by Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise. The Final Months, the current fall and exhibition. It was a privilege for all our guests to enjoy private viewings of this highly beautiful and successful exhibition away from crowds, as well as Louis Janmot. The Poem of the Soul and Peter Doig. Reflections of the Century, the Fall 2023 contemporary reading project supported by AFMO. The private viewings were complemented with an elegant cocktail in the nave.

The dinner in the Restaurant’s dining room gathered an elegant cosmopolitan crowd of patrons and art lovers. The tables recreated a country path like the ones Vincent Van Gogh had walked, sketched and written about in his letters. A golden hour light with soft candles, grass and wild flowers, letters, sketches and catalog covers, a winding table path, all contributed to a unique evening tribute to an artist and his final works as they draw incredible crowds to the Musée d’Orsay 133 years after he passed away.

  • Musée d’Orsay, the silent nave at night before opening the doors..

  • Getting the dining room ready.

  • Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise. The Final Months, enjoying the exhibition in peace and quiet.

  • Peter Doig. Reflections of the Century. Private visit with the artist.

  • Cocktail, under the gaze of the Statue of Liberty.

  • Guests enjoying dinner in the dining room.

We wish to thank Chef Alain Ducasse and his team for their enthusiasm and commitment to making this dinner so beautiful and delicious.

Our warmest thanks to Lawrence Wine Estates for celebrating French-American friendship with us, and to Ruinart for their joyful bubbles.

We were honored and happy to partner with The Wall Street Journal. and look forward to more projects with them.

Finally, we are very grateful to President Christophe Leribault and to all Musée d’Orsay teams whom we work with all year long. They have been instrumental in making this evening so special.

AFMO is very grateful to all that contributed to the success of the evening, including our wonderful student volunteers from the American University in Paris.

All photos: WebStyleStory by François-Xavier Watine (see gallery).

A weekend in Paris

The weekend opened with a cocktail at the Musée de l’Orangerie, where our guests enjoyed private viewings of Amedeo Modigliani. A painter and his dealer, the Fall/Winter 2023 exhibition, as well as the permanent collection and the magical Waterlilies.

From Friday to Monday, based on their personal weekend choices and itinerary, patrons and guests were treated to very exclusive visits and events.

We wish to thank again all our hosts and partners for this wonderful program, as well as our hotels partners: The Ritz Paris and JK Place.

Receptions

Opening cocktail, @Musée de l‘Orangerie - including private viewings of Amedeo Modigliani. A painter and his dealer and Hermann Nitsch’s Contemporary Counterpoint

Luncheon @Palais de la Légion d’honneur

Cocktail @Residence

Gala evening @Musée d’Orsay (see above)

Breakfast @Cercle de l’Union Interalliée

Private visits and conversations, a few highlights

Van Gogh in Auvers-sur-Oise. The Final Months, @Musée d’Orsay - curatorial tour

Amedeo Modigliani. The Painter and his Dealer, @Musée de l’Orangerie - curatorial tour

Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collections, @Musée d’Orsay - curatorial tour

The Art of French Porcelain, @Sèvres Manufacture - private tour

Inside the Restoration Worksite, @Grand Palais - private tour

Conversation with Inès de La Fressange, @Inès de La Fressange Paris - private conversation

Christophe Durand Ruel’s private collection, @Home - private conversation

Paris + par Art Basel, @Grand Palais Ephémère - private tour

Tristan Auer, AD 100 architect and designer, @Home - private conversation

Backstage, @Hôtel Drouot - private visit

Proust’s Madeleine, @Ritz Paris - Ecole Ritz-Escoffier - private session

Design Miami/, @Hotel de Maisons (Pozzo Di Borgo) - private tour

In Van Gogh’s footsteps, @Auvers-sur-Oise - half-day trip

Wine pairing experience, @Caves Legrand Filles & Fils - private session

Jean-Michel Othoniel, @Studio - private studio visit

Behind-the-Scenes, @Chanel Haute Joaillerie - exclusive private visit

We are very grateful to Gregory Annenberg Weingarten of Grow@Annenberg for their continued support.

Rendez-vous in October 2024!