week in art holiday party edition 745025

This article from Artnet News recaps a series of holiday parties and galas in the New York art world during December 2016. Highlights include the New York Botanical Garden's 18th Annual Winter Wonderland Ball, attended by Anne Hathaway, Tinsley Mortimer, and Andrew Warren; artnet's own holiday party featuring the Bumbys and a magician; ACRIA's 21st Annual Holiday Dinner honoring the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation and actress Judith Light; and Project for Empty Space's Winter Bacchanal Benefit, which presented the first Badass Art Woman Awards to curators Rujeko Hockley, Rocio Aranda-Alvarado, and Deana Haggag.

It's full of artworks behind the looks seen on the Met Gala 2026 red carpet

È pieno di opere d’arte dietro ai look visti sul red carpet del Met Gala 2026

The Met Gala 2026, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, adopted the dress code "Fashion Is Art," prompting designers and celebrities to transform their bodies into living canvases and sculptures. Notable looks included Emma Chamberlain in custom Mugler evoking Vincent van Gogh, Anne Hathaway wearing a Michael Kors Collection dress hand-painted by artist Peter McGough with ancient Greek iconography, and Madonna in a Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello ensemble inspired by Leonora Carrington's surrealist work. Other celebrities like Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner referenced classical sculptures such as the Nike of Samothrace and Venus de Milo, while Anok Yai, in collaboration with Pierpaolo Piccioli for Balenciaga, created a metallic bronze effect honoring the Black Madonna.

The Look Book Goes to Rashid Johnson’s Opening Night

Nearly a thousand people attended the opening night of Rashid Johnson's solo exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. The event, covered by the Look Book, featured a diverse crowd including artists, curators, writers, and collectors, with attendees sharing their impressions of the show and personal connections to the work. Notable figures present included artist Rashid Johnson, deputy director Naomi Beckwith, and writer Kevin Young, among many others.

Syracuse-born artist Peter McGough hand-painted Anne Hathaway’s Met Gala dress

Syracuse-born artist Peter McGough hand-painted a custom Michael Kors gown worn by Anne Hathaway to the 2026 Met Gala. The dress, a strapless black Mikado silk ball gown with a plunging neckline and high-leg slit, features intricate Grecian patterns inspired by the Met's urns and statues, including a goddess with a dove on the back. McGough, a former classmate of Michael Kors at the Fashion Institute of Technology, painted directly on the silk and wool gown over a week using three layers of fabric paint. The design aligns with the gala's 'Fashion Is Art' dress code and references John Keats' poem 'Ode on a Grecian Urn,' also tying into Hathaway's upcoming film 'The Odyssey.'