President's Council Spring Dinner 2007: André Leon Talley, Fran Lebowitz, Esther Perel, and Charles Masson

On Pleasure

The President’s Council Spring Dinner was a pre-Valentines Day celebration and the theme was “On Pleasure,” exploring our insatiable appetite for gratification in its many forms. The lively program featured André Leon Talley, Editor-at-Large of Vogue and highly influential figure in the world of fashion; humorist Fran Lebowitz, best known for her wildly sardonic commentaries on American life; Esther Perel, the insightful author of Mating in Captivity: Reconciling the Erotic and Domestic; and Charles Masson, owner of one of New York’s most elegant restaurants, Le Grenouille, renowned for its excellent cuisine and exquisite floral arrangements. Guests were treated to a special exhibit of treasures from the Library’s collections, including valentine drawings by e.e. cummings, intimate 18th-century watercolor depictions of Catherine the Great and Prince Grigori Potemkin, and an autograph manuscript of Claude Debussy’s Les Papillons, dedicated to Marie-Blanche Vasnier, his muse. Dinner was strikingly set in Astor Hall with décor by the noted designer, David Monn.

Library Chairman Catherine C. Marron, far right, and President Paul LeClerc, far left, with President’s Council Co-Chairs and panelists at the February 2007 dinner.