Photos: MFA Summer Party

Check out scenes from the June 8, 2019, event at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

By Julia Kacmarek· 6/19/2019, 1:23 p.m.

On June 8, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), welcomed over 700 guests to The Summer Party, the Museum’s only annual black-tie fundraising gala from 9pm–12am. This year’s festivities were themed around the special exhibition Toulouse-Lautrec and the Stars of Paris, which explores Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s extraordinary attention to the cabaret performers, dancers and actors of Montmartre, the heart of bohemian nightlife in 19th-century Paris.

The Summer Party is presented by the MFA’s Museum Council, and led by co-chairs Reto Thüring, Beal Family Chair of the Department of Contemporary Art at the MFA, and Franziska Widmer, Nina Lewis-Schroeder and Bill Schroeder, and Charlotte and Marc Zawel.

Before the party started, Dennis Miner and Kirsten Root got engaged on the rotunda steps and got a round of applause at the pre-party VIP reception in the outdoor Calderwood Courtyard. Toward the end of the VIP reception, MFA staff member Chris Barberesi surprised guests with a performance of La Vie En Rose. In the Shapiro Family Courtyard, DJ Hectik hosted a dance party with a full bar including specialty cocktails, dessert and late-night bites. Guests bid in a silent auction, which included artworks to take home, exclusive art experiences with MFA curators and artists in the collection and luxury items.

Proceeds from The Summer Party provide support for the MFA’s exhibitions, community programs and conservation initiatives.

Photography by Matthew Teuten