Museum Busy Planning Elegant Salute XVI

Our team of committed volunteers is hard at work planning Elegant Salute XVI: An Imperial Evening, which will take place January 26, 2019. Held every other year, Elegant Salute is the museum’s single most important fundraiser, supplying crucial funds for educational programming and exhibitions that let us fulfill our mission to bring art to the people of our state.

This year’s gala takes the exhibition “The Reluctant Autocrat: Tsar Nicholas II” as its inspiration and is chaired by Sarah Kraft Peterson and Isobel “Ibby” Parker Mills. Parker Curator of Russian Art Asen Kirin is organizing the exhibition, which focuses on the last two Romanov rulers: Nicholas II and his father, Alexander III. Only the second dynasty to rule Russia, the House of Romanov maintained power for some 300 years, until the Russian Revolution, in 1917.

“The Reluctant Autocrat” will include many works from the Parker Collection at the museum (rare books, vintage photographs, elaborate silver objects, medals, portraits, militaria, porcelain and costumes) as well as supplementary objects from Bob Jones University Museum of Art and Gallery and from the promised gift of Marina Belosselsky-Belozersky Kasarda. Highly ornamented and rich with meaning, these works of fine and decorative art are already supplying the décor and flowers committee, headed up by past Elegant Salute chair Maggie Hancock, with plenty of ideas.

Ham Magill, Gordhan Patel and David Matheny are in charge of fundraising this time around, with a goal of $200,000 in sponsorships. We know you can help them get there. Devereux Burch is in charge of the social committee, Airee Edwards is chair of the after-party publicity committee, Bree Hayes is having fun planning the menu with her compatriots, Mike Landers is running the entertainment committee, Evelyn Dukes is once again ably handling logistics, and Maggie Hancock and Ligia Alexander are once again imagining exquisite decor and flowers.

The evening will begin with cocktails at 6, in a heated tent in the Jane and Harry Willson Sculpture Garden, followed by dinner in the M. Smith Griffith Grand Hall. Attendees will partake of a Russian-inspired meal, then return to the tent for the after-party: From Russia with Love. Guests can dance the evening away in a James Bond–themed environment while they enjoy dessert.

Tickets are $300 for members, $350 for nonmembers. Tickets to the after-party only are $50 for members, $65 for nonmembers and include entry to the after-party. Please call 706.542.0830 or visit bit.ly/elegant-salute-2019 for more information, to sponsor or to purchase tickets.