Oct 7, 2007

Cantor's moonlit Rodin Garden gala shines

By Janet Duca Norton / Society Columnist

"Rodin by Moonlight," the sold-out biennial fundraiser for Stanford's Cantor Art Center, continued its tradition of being a strikingly beautiful party, with spectacular floral decorations gracing the museum's unique Rodin Sculpture Garden.

In his welcoming remarks, Cantor Center Membership Board chairman Fred Rehmus described the Sept. 29 gala as "an evening of magic."

"Cantor is the most successful university museum in the country, with more than 150,000 visitors each year," Rehmus said, adding, "You're backing a winner."

Since 1987, "Rodin by Moonlight" has raised more than $750,000, making it possible for the museum to continue offering free admission and its educational programs.

Proceeds from this year's benefit will be used to produce next year's "Passion and Possession: A Decade of Collecting," an exhibit celebrating the reopening of Stanford's art museum as the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts in 1999. The art museum incurred tremendous damage during the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, and was closed for 10 years prior to its impressive expansion and grand reopening.

Stanford University President John Hennessy and his wife Andrea, who were honorary chairs, related to dinner guests how popular the museum is with Stanford students.

"Last year 2,500 students came to the (student open house) welcoming event at the museum," President Hennessy said. "Only football games and graduation attract larger numbers."

The evening featured a cocktail reception in the museum with musical entertainment by pianist Liz Cirone and Starlight Strings, a rave-review dinner prepared by an award-winning chef and dancing at the "Gates of Hell" (the garden's famous sculptured doors) to David Martin's House Party until the moon rose high in the night sky.

The gala committee of Rodin veterans - Melissa Badger, Sandy Levison, Jacque Jarve, Julie Terrel-Hooper, Mary Linn Coldiron, Wendy Rohn, Lisa Mooring and Kathy Wiggans - worked for more than a year to produce the floral and culinary extravaganza.

Once again, talented floral designers Jeffrey Adair and Craig Kozowski, owners of J Floral Arts in Menlo Park, collaborated on a design theme, this year's being a modern take on Napoleon's palace at Versailles.

When Adair and committee member Charlene Cogan researched Napoleon's coat of arms, they discovered a bee that Napoleon had chosen to symbolize a bridge between his power and that of the old French monarchy. Event invitations and programs displayed gold bees that were also etched on flower bowls and votive candles. A spectacular pair of large floral bees displayed in the museum lobby and hallway established the "strictly modern color scheme" of cerise pink and orange sherbet, Adair said.

Versailles' elegance was captured with nine crystal chandeliers bearing orange lights, 20 crystal candelabra centerpieces and large floral arrangements in the gala's signature colors.
The party was a feast for the eyes and the palate. On arrival, guests ascended a champagne-colored carpet on a votive candle-lit staircase and viewed a formal French-themed garden, surrounded by boxwoods and kalanchoes and featuring a lighted fountain.

Guests dined among the 19 bronze Rodin sculptures at tables draped with orange- and pink-colored cloths, topped with sheer gold overlays. Centerpiece arrangements featured orange and pink flowers, including calla lilies, roses, tulips, hydrangeas and dahlias.

Even the culinary creations by Michelin two-star-rated chef Douglas Keane of Cyrus Restaurant in Healdsburg were color coordinated. The meal, served by Paula LeDuc Fine Catering, featured heirloom tomato gazpacho, lobster and melon salad, red wine truffle risotto, Wagyu beef with bordelaise sauce and a trio of apple confections.

Members of the Stanford community in attendance included the Hennessys, Burt and Deedee McMurtry, and Nobel Laureate Paul Berg and his wife Mildred.

The guest list for this limited-invitation event was an interesting mix of generations and professions, including Michael and Susan Dorsey, former U.S. ambassador Bill Lane and his wife Jean, Duncan and Shirley Matteson, Tad and Dianne Taube, and Caroline and Jim Labe.

Seen dancing late into the evening were Jeff and Cindy Traum, Dr. Michael Gropper, Brian and Tracey Avery, Stefanie and Greg Beasley, and Dr. Jeff Guardino and Dr. Ellie Guardino.

Janet Duca Norton's society column appears every Sunday in the Daily News. E-mail Janet at society@paloaltodailynews.com.