On Thursday, November 16, Pratt Institute will present Legends 2017, an annual scholarship benefit supporting Pratt students and honoring creative icons whose works have helped shape the cultural landscape. Hosted this year against the dramatic backdrop of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline at the Mandarin Oriental New York, the event raises vital funds for undergraduate scholarships, as nearly 70 percent of Pratt students receive financial aid to pursue their education.
Legends 2017 will honor art collector and educator Corice Canton Arman, award-winning photographer and Pratt alumnus George Kalinsky, and Wendy Kvalheim, Pratt alumna and CEO and Design Director of Mottahedeh & Company.
Corice Canton Arman is a passionate patron of the arts, both in the United States and France. Her advocacy on behalf of art, art history, and artists was honed and deepened during her marriage of 35 years to the renowned artist Arman, who passed away in October 2005. Together, she and Arman assembled a highly personal art collection, including antiquities, works by contemporary artists, and one of this country’s most distinguished collections of African tribal art.
For over 20 years, Corice Arman was a Trustee of New York’s Museum for African Art, and deeply involved with the museum’s outreach and educational programs. As Trustee of Arman’s estate, she works to further the understanding of the historical significance of Arman’s artistic legacy and that of his colleagues. In recognition of her contributions as art collector, patron, and educator, in 2009, the French Ministry of Culture appointed Corice Arman a Chevalier de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres.
George Kalinsky, a Pratt Institute alumnus, is one of the most famous image makers of our time. His lens has captured some of the most important faces, places, and events in the world of sports, entertainment, and politics. As the official photographer of Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall, he has created many iconic images. Kalinsky has also captured the world’s greatest rock stars on the world’s greatest stage. His iconic shots of Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, John Lennon, The Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Elton John, and Billy Joel are all displayed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
Among the many other venues in which Kalinsky’s work has been exhibited are the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the International Center of Photography, and The Olympus Plaza Gallery in Tokyo. His works are also part of the permanent collections of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Cornell University, the New York Governor’s Mansion, the Jewish Museum of New York, the Southern Vermont Arts Center, the National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame, and Madison Square Garden. In addition to his 10 published books, Kalinsky’s photos have also appeared in hundreds of books, magazines, newspapers, and web sites throughout the world.
Wendy Kvalheim, a Pratt Institute alumna, is the president and design director of Mottahedeh & Company, Inc., one of the nation’s foremost designers and manufacturers of fine dinnerware, tabletop accessories, and giftware. Leading Mottahedeh for over 20 year years, Kvalheim continues to build on the company’s finest traditions. World renowned as one of the finest manufacturers of high-fire porcelain, Mottahedeh has been in business for over 85 years. Their reputation for fine museum reproductions and numerous historic licensing agreements is unparalleled and includes such notable organizations as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Historic Charleston Foundation, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Winterthur Museum and Gardens, Mount Vernon, and National Trust.
In her book, From Drawing Board to Dinner Table, she chronicles the development of Mottahedeh as it expresses the development of porcelain through the centuries. Kvalheim is also a Trustee of D&R Greenway Land Trust in Princeton, New Jersey.
The Legends gala begins at 6 PM with a cocktail reception, followed by a 7 PM live auction, dinner, and awards ceremony. Purchase tickets or make a donation.
Photos (left to right): George Kalinsky, Corice Canton Arman, Wendy Kvalheim