As the dinner wound on and guests chowed down on deconstructed beef Wellington, Hollein tapped a glass for another announcement: The evening had raised a record $4.8 million to go to the acquisitions fund. And yes, that is just a fraction of the record sum of more than $26 million that the Met Gala raised last May, but it’s still a massive haul by any measure, more than most famous museums achieve during their one big fundraiser.
And Hollein insisted that the funds would immediately be put to good use.
“If you are worried and thinking, Are we going to spend that money? Yes, we will spend it all,” Hollein said, the crowd in stitches. “We have all our curators here tonight, and they will have plans for the money tomorrow morning.”
The Rundown
Your crib sheet for the comings and goings in the art world this week and beyond…
…When Luigi Mangione was announced as a person of interest in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, I did what you would expect your Vanity Fair culture correspondent to do: I went to his Facebook page to look for any evidence that the alleged killer was a big fan of contemporary art. And lo and behold, what did I find but a picture of Mangione that he posted on August 24, 2019, of himself at SFMoMA in San Francisco. In the picture, he’s posing with Dan Flavin’s Untitled (in Honor of Leo at the 30th Anniversary of His Gallery), which has been in the museum’s collection since 2012, and is currently on view. (The “Leo” in the title is Leo Castelli.) The picture, along with the rest of his Facebook page, was taken down by Meta on Monday, but I managed to snap a screenshot right before. Mangione’s X profile picture also shows him in front of what appears to be a step and repeat at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. But as far as Mangione’s connections to the art world, well, that appears to be it.
…Before the big party at The Met, I stopped by a book launch for another hospitality guy I’ve profiled for the magazine: Mario Carbone. It was at ZZ’s Club, in the private room, of course. Along with his Major Food Group partners Jeff Zalaznick and Rich Torrisi, he’s put together a beautiful Assouline book that looks back at the first decade of Carbone, the restaurant, and further discusses the magic behind Mario’s meatballs. There’s plenty of food-porn pictures printed in high gloss, and some great writing by expert restaurant-world scribe (and VF contributor) Gabe Ulla, who provided the text. Plus recipes! The Caesar Alla ZZ might lose a bit of the oomph when you eat it at home, not tossed tableside surrounded by the restaurant’s “Sinatra-washed rigatoni fantasia,” as I once called it. But it’s still a real good salad.
…The museum show featuring Roman sculptures referred to as the Torlonia marbles was low-key the hottest joint in Paris during Art Basel this year, causing collectors who usually stick to the contemporary art galleries to hightail it over to The Louvre. This week it was announced that next year the Torlonia marbles will be touring North America for the first time. They’ll be at the Art Institute of Chicago from March 15 to June 29, the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth from September 14 to January 25, 2026, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts from March 14 to July 19, 2026.
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