Princess Grace Awards Gala at Sotheby's New York
The Princess Grace Foundation-USA (PGF-USA) hosted its 25th Anniversary Princess Grace Awards Gala at Sotheby's New York on October 25 and presented 22 Awards to emerging artists in theater, dance and film, as well as two Princess Grace Statue Awards to previous winners.
A highlight of the Gala included the sale of two one-of-a-kind outfits worn by Princess Grace, with proceeds to benefit the Princess Grace Awards program. William Doyle of Ireland's Newbridge Silverware purchased both outfits for $355,000, which were personally selected by HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco and The Princess of Hanover.
PGF- USA also honored Indiana Jones and Star Wars creator George Lucas with the Prince Rainier III Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the arts. It was presented to him by James Earl Jones, famed Darth Vader from Star Wars. The 25th Anniversary Gala took place in the presence of HSH Prince Albert of Monaco and TRH The Prince and The Princess of Hanover.
Prince Rainier III Award honoree George Lucas has had an accomplished artistic career which spans almost 40 years and includes his work as a writer, director, producer and most significantly, creator of some of the most noteworthy movies of our generation, including the epic Indiana Jones and Star Wars series. In 2006, George Lucas' Lucasfilm Foundation donated $175 million to Lucas' alma-mater USC School of Cinematic Arts for the construction and renovation of educational buildings and to provide an endowment for the school. Two-time Tony Award winner and Academy Award nominee James Earl Jones introduced George Lucas who commented, "When they showed the film [Star Wars], some of the [20th Century Fox] film executives fell asleep, and others hated it. One of the people who stood up for me was Princess Grace -- a board member at 20th Century Fox -- I will always be thankful for that. This award is an especially exciting award. I am keen on education, film students and art students of all kinds."
George Lucas
The sale of Princess Grace’s dresses, as part of the evening’s live auction, was conducted by family friend and Sotheby's auctioneer, James G. Niven. The first outfit was sold for $135,000 -- a Givenchy-designed sleeveless dress with matching fringed bolero jacket in vivid green worn on an official 1961 visit to the White House for lunch with President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy. This outfit was also worn on an official visit to her ancestral Ireland, accompanied by Prince Rainier, in June 1961 and was sold with a coordinating hat (also worn by Princess Grace but not the one accompanying the original outfit).
The second dress was sold for $220,000 -- the beautiful Helen Rose ball gown worn by a young Grace Kelly in the 1956 musical comedy, High Society. The layered gray-over-rose chiffon gown is appliquéd with rhinestones and pink and white embroidered flowers. Helen Rose created Princess Grace's iconic wedding dress, a gift from MGM studios, the suit she wore to her civil marriage ceremony and her costumes for the films Mogambo and The Swan.
The Princess Grace Awards has three categories of award recognition including: theater, dance and film (for complete results please visit www.pgfusa.org). Honorees in film were presented with awards by Golden Globe Award winner Sir Roger Moore; theater by actor Anthony Rapp (who originated the role of Mark Cohen in RENT on Broadway and brother of 2006 Princess Grace Statue Award winner Adam Rapp); for dance Tony Award winning choreographer Susan Stroman and special guest host world-renowned opera singer Renee Fleming. During the evening, attendees were entertained by past Princess Grace Award winner Donna Lynne Champlin with a medley of songs from West Side Story.
Presenting Sponsor of the 25th Anniversary Princess Grace Awards was Manhattan House. Platinum Sponsors were Noelle and Dick Wolf and Crown Sponsors include: American Airlines, Estee Lauder, Inc., Mrs. Edmond J. Safra and Van Cleef & Arpels. Other sponsors included the Chocolaterie de Monaco, Monaco Government Tourist Office, Yves G. Piaget and Sir Michael W.J. Smurfit.
Honorary Chairs for the 25th Anniversary Princess Grace Awards Gala were Celeste Holm, Nancy Reagan, Mrs. Frank Sinatra (Barbara) and Lynn Wyatt. The Gala Chairs were Tory Burch and Anne Hearst and the Gala Co-Chairs were Hon. Maguy Maccario Doyle, Consul General from the Consulate General of Monaco and Pamela Fiori, Editor-in-Chief, Town & Country.
The Princess Grace Foundation-USA, a public charity formed after the death of Princess Grace in 1982, awards scholarships, apprenticeships and fellowships to assist emerging theater, dance and film artists. Some past Award winners include Stephen Hillenburg, creator of Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants; Tony Kushner, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright; Gillian Murphy, principal dancer of American Ballet Theatre; and Eric Simonson, Academy Award winner. For more information about PGF-USA, please visit www.pgfusa.org.