Word: cason
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Even by her own standards, the black-tie gala that Houston socialite Becca Cason Thrash organized in Paris on June 10 was exceptional. The 272 guests, who paid up to $10,000 each to attend, included a smattering of European royalty, Bianca Jagger, Wall Street grandees Wilbur Ross and Stephen Schwarzman and the cream of Houston high society. Cason Thrash flew her Los Angeles decorator in and says she was so nervous about the arrangements that "by 6 p.m., I was looking for a cyanide capsule." This wasn't any old fund raiser: it was held for the Louvre...
...Louvre pulled out of a show that a private promoter was mounting in Verona, Italy. The Louvre would have received $6.4 million for its participation, but the idea of working on a commercial basis with a private operator rather than a museum caused some concern among curators. Even Cason Thrash ran into restrictions on what she could do at her party: the museum drew the line at using candles and turned down her request to hold the event in a painting gallery. "They do that at the Met," she gripes. Still, she gushes about Loyrette. "Henri's a visionary...
Until recently, France's iconic museum wouldn't have dreamed of rolling out the red carpet for international partygoers, however rich, let alone - quelle horreur! - allowing food and drink to be served in a gallery containing valuable artworks. Indeed, Cason Thrash's party was the first time that rule was broken. Fund raisers may be standard practice at American museums, but no American museum has a history as storied as that of the Louvre. It started life in the 12th century as an imposing fortress, then became a royal palace that was home for centuries to kings and their burgeoning...
...Even Cason Thrash ran into restrictions on what she could do at her June party: the museum drew the line at using candles - she had to make do with battery-powered votive lights instead - and it also turned down her request to hold the event in a painting gallery. "They do that at the Met," she gripes. Still, Cason Thrash gushes about Loyrette, his embrace of American-style fund raising and his attempt to open up the place to a wider audience. "Henri's a visionary. He totally gets it," she says. "It's time for the Louvre to spread...
Which raises the question: Why should anyone give money to a French museum that already receives a hefty slug of government funding, while so many museums around the world are starved of cash? A few days after Cason Thrash's party, one of the attendees, Max Blumberg, a wealthy Floridian who made his money in lighting, sits in his exquisitely decorated Paris pied-à-terre opposite the Tuileries gardens, with a view of I.M. Pei's pyramid, and provides the answer. "The name of the Louvre has magical powers in the world of art," he says. "We don't look...