Albany Museum of Art offers artistry, elegance at Art Ball 2025

ALBANY ─ The Albany Museum of Art’s Art Ball 2025 promises a spectacular spring evening celebrating the arts. The gala at 6:30 p.m. on March 22 will bring to life a vibrant “Fête Nocturne” theme inspired by François Flameng’s painting of an elegant garden party.

After several years downtown, the AMA’s signature annual event returns to its original location at 311 Meadowlark Drive. With décor inspired by “Fête Nocturne,” Art Ball 2025 will weave a beautiful tapestry of art, culture, and community spirit, AMA officials said in a news release.

“It will be an enchanting evening, one where elegance meets artistry,” AMA Executive Director Andrew J. Wulf said. “Art Ball, however, is much more than a celebration. The event supports the museum’s mission to inspire, educate and promote the arts in our community.”

Kelly Lane and her husband, Matt, say they are excited to be co-chairs of this year’s event. Their company, Safe Aire Heating & Cooling, is a sponsor.

“After attending Art Ball for several years and enjoying those wonderful evenings that support the important work that the museum does in the community, we’re thrilled and honored to chair and support Art Ball this year,” Kelly Lane said. “This event is a terrific opportunity to give back to our community.

“We feel the arts are important for the future generations of this community, our children who will be the leaders of tomorrow. A strong art presence enhances the overall quality of life, also making it instrumental in attracting new people to our community.

Art Ball 2025 will start with cocktails and an indulgent gourmet dinner prepared by Canterbury Catering.

Dinner will be followed by a live auction at which attendees will bid on one-of-a-kind artworks, luxury experiences, and exclusive packages, and by the Wayne & Alicia Gregory Family Foundation Paddle Raise. Funds raised during the Paddle Raise portion directly support the AMA’s educational programs, including scholarships to the museum’s popular seasonal art camps.

After the auction and Paddle Raise, attendees will dance late into the night to the sounds of Georgia’s most popular party band, The Grapevine Band.

Also attending will be the oil painting inspiring the evening. “Fête Nocturne,” one of the most popular artworks in the AMA’s permanent collection, will be on view in the museum during the event. “Fête Nocturne” once belonged to William Randolph Hearst and was hung at his San Simeon estate — Hearst Castle — in California. The Maurice D. Gortatowsky family donated the painting to the AMA in 1979.

Jake Gortatowsky, the donor’s uncle and an Albany native, worked for Hearst’s New York newspaper and was a frequent visitor to San Simeon. Hearst gave Jake Gortatowsky the painting after hearing him say on many occasions that one of the women in the painting reminded him of his wife, Sadie.

Flameng (1856-1923) was a French Post-Impressionist painter and engraver who studied at the Lycee Louis le Grand and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, where he became a professor in 1905. He died in his hometown of Paris a year after Hearst purchased “Fête Nocturne.”

The painting, which translates night party, shows three women in elegant dress on a balcony overlooking a group of dancers on the lawn. The scene is lit by brightly-colored Japanese paper lanterns, which lend a festive glow to the night mist among the trees.

“Like the scene depicted so wonderfully in ‘Fête Nocturne,’ Art Ball is a joyful celebration of the arts, and rightfully so. There is much to celebrate,” AMA Director of Development Chloe Hinton said. “But Art Ball has a deeper meaning, too. As the AMA’s biggest, most successful fundraiser, this annual black-tie-optional event not only raises awareness of the museum and its important work in the community, it also raises the vital funding that supports free admission for everyone, free field trips for school kids, world-class traveling exhibitions, educational programming, art camps and more.”

Hinton applauded the generous sponsors who make Art Ball possible each year.

“Without these community-minded businesses standing with the museum, Art Ball could not be the successful event that everyone looks forward to every year,” she said.

Tickets for “Art Ball 2025: Fête Nocturne” are on sale now. Tickets are $250, with a $50 discount for AMA donors at the Contributor Level and above. They may be purchased online at the link at www.albanymuseum.com/event/art-ball/.