Updated posts 2026
One of the highlights of summer in the Hamptons is East Hampton’s LongHouse Reserve which celebrated its community of artists – past, present, and future – at their annual Summer Benefit, July 23rd. Titled ONWARD, a favorite expression of its founder Jack Lenor Larsen. Banished was the old-style sit-down dinner under a tent. Instead, LongHouse spread couches, canopied beds, rugs, and chairs throughout the garden under the stars, with five buffets boasting everything from poké bowls to a raw bar. The art auction proved a centerpiece, while multiple bands kept 300 revelers dancing till nearly midnight.
“Having so many of the talented makers of our new artworks with us is in keeping with LongHouse’s tradition of honoring makers” said executive director Carrie R. Barratt. “LongHouse is so fortunate to have such a wealth of talent and support in our community,” offered co-president Dianne Benson. “You could feel the love and support in the air” added co-president, Nina Gillman.
The shift away from a seated dinner reflects something LongHouse has built into its identity from the start. Jack Lenor Larsen, a textile designer who spent his career treating fabric and furniture as living, tactile things rather than fixed objects, founded the reserve on the idea that art belongs in the landscape rather than behind glass. Scattering couches and canopied beds through the garden for a night lets guests encounter sculpture the same way they might encounter it on any ordinary walk through the grounds, which suits an institution built around that philosophy far better than rows of dinner tables would.
Among the artists attending were Cheng Tsung Feng, who traveled with his team from Taiwan, inviting guests to enter his bamboo pavilion, Fish Trap VI; Steven Ladd stood inside his piece (created with his brother William Ladd), Right Here, Right Now; Moko Fukuyama engaged us with her Hell Gate Keepers; and Fitzhugh Karol shared Friendship, his immense totems honoring the spirit of trees. Other work on the property for the first time included Bjorn Amelan’s sumi ink paintings and Alexander Polzin’s Parthenope alongside permanent installations by Yoko Ono, Buckminster Fuller, and Willem de Kooning.
Guests included Alice Aycock, Tony Bechara and Desiree Von la Valette, Halim Bulos, Stacy Engman, Edwina von Gal, Dakota Jackson and RoseLee Goldberg, Nathan Lane and Delvin Elliott, Stewart Lane and Bonnie Comley, Laura Lobdell, Fern Mallis, Jean Shafiroff, Leann Pei, Harry Santa-Olalla, Lee Skolnick, Barbara Slifka, David White (Mr. StarCity), Robert Wilson, stylish sister duo Tanya and Temidra Willock, and Victoria Wyman, as well as LongHouse Reserve Board of Trustees, Sherri Donghia, Dr. Derick George, Ayse Kenmore, Mark and Elizabeth Levine, Deborah Nevins, Peter H. Olsen, Suzanne Slesin and Michael Steinberg, and James Zajac.
The Summer Benefit is LongHouse Reserve’s largest event of the year, with all proceeds going towards their mission of teaching living with art in all its forms; this includes diverse educational outreach, community programming, and maintenance of the grounds to keep it open for all. Sponsors included Macari Vineyards, Springs Brewery, Baked by Melissa, Marders, Diversified Services Inc., Power Equipment, and Riverhead Building Supply. Music provided by The Cherry Bombs, Joy Jan Jones, Royal KhaoZ and Certain Moves, with choreography and movement from Hadam Sung.
