Art Museum raises $195K at gala

NEWPORT ART MUSEUM Executive Director Norah Diedrich, left, gives honorees Robert and Heidi Manice a gift of artwork on behalf of the museum at A Beaux Arts Ball. The gift was a hand-blown glass sculpture from Anchor Bend Glassworks in Newport. The ball, a fundraiser, raised more than $195,000.
NEWPORT ART MUSEUM Executive Director Norah Diedrich, left, gives honorees Robert and Heidi Manice a gift of artwork on behalf of the museum at A Beaux Arts Ball. The gift was a hand-blown glass sculpture from Anchor Bend Glassworks in Newport. The ball, a fundraiser, raised more than $195,000.

NEWPORT – More than 280 guests attended the Newport Art Museum’s annual summer gala, A Beaux Arts Ball, raising more than $195,000 for the museum.
Held July 18 in the Museum’s historic John N.A. Griswold House, the event honored Robert Manice, his wife Heidi, and the memory of his late mother, Beatrice Manice.
A former museum trustee, Robert Manice and his family have contributed in many ways over the years, including to the Cushing Gallery restoration and various curatorial projects. He is also an active member of the museum’s collections committee and an artist donor to Wet Paint program.
Manice spoke on the importance of the museum and art to the community, and was presented with a hand-blown glass sculpture from Anchor Bend Glassworks.
Funds raised will help support the museum’s exhibition, education, outreach and historic preservation programs.
With an “under the sea theme,” the gala party that followed included dancing, silent auction bidding, an open bar, and food by Tallulah’s Taco’s and Stoneacre Pantry. Other highlights included Nimble Arts, which entertained the crowd with an aerialist performance suspended from the Ilgenfritz Gallery ceiling.
Of the total raised, $16,000 came from the silent auction, in which guests won everything from cocktail cruises to Bermuda vacations. Guests also participated in a wine raffle and pledged to the “Fund the Future” campaign, which raised a total of $37,000.
Kristen Coates, Chris Wyllie, and Elizabeth Kahane co-chaired the ball, with support from the Gala Committee, Newport Art Museum Contemporaries and many other sponsors and auction donors. Major sponsors included U.S. Trust, Bank Newport, and Northeast Collaborative Architects.

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