The other night Serge and I had a glass of wine with Louise Hirshfeld, the widow of famous line-drawing artist Al Hirscfeld at her beautiful Upper Eastside home. We met her at a BAM event sponsored by BofA in November, the kickoff benefit dinner for the Bridge Project. She is a culturally involved socialite now actively involved in a foundation that promotes educational arts programs around the area.
At the dinner where we met, Serge and I sat in between Louise and Sam Mendes (the husband of Kate Winslet, winner of an Academy Award for American Beauty). Louise was so charmed by Serge that she invited us both to tea at her home. I agree with her, he is quite charming.
Though I don't envy the four flights of steps, nor the effort it must take to keep the many bookshelves and artwork so well dusted, walking through her home was like being in a museum- an absolutely incredible experience. We saw Al Hirschfeld's 4th floor studio and the barber's chair where he worked. Serge and I both got a kick out of the sign on the bookshelf, "Remember, it was an actor who killed Lincoln."
In addition to seeing a career-spanning collection of Al Hirschfeld's artwork and various other collections (including an entire wall devoted to a mural), I got to play on his daughter Nina's Steinway & Sons grand piano. Nina is best known as the identity behind the name so cleverly integrated into all of her father's line drawings.
It was a wonderful evening. To put it in proper "tea" terms, the evening was "delightful" :)
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