With more than 3,000 attendees at its Thursday night preview party, the Houston Fine Art Fair is shaping up to be one of the season’s biggest events.

Benefiting the Core Fellowship Program — the renowned artist's residency of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston — the party drew art collectors, Houston scenesters and the culturally curious to the George R. Brown Convention Center for the city’s first major international art fair.

With walls featuring works from artists like abstract expressionist Hans Hofmann, the lounge alone was a high-end art show in itself. Sponsored by gin-maker Bombay Sapphire, the bar served pineapple cocktails and, in a dash of daring, red wine — often a taboo at events displaying art ranging up to the million-dollar mark.

Legendary art dealer Riva Yares held court among an unprecedented collection of more than 10 large paintings from seminal American painter Milton Avery. “They’re impressive, aren’t they?” she smiled as a CultureMap reporter stepped into her eponymously-titled booth. “This is Houston’s first big show and we want to impress the crowd tonight.”

Yares will be signing copies of her new memoir, Sleeping with Dogs, at her gallery’s booth this Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

A ceremony honoring artist Donald Sultan was one of the evening’s biggest draws. Houston Fine Art Fair owner Rick Friedman presided over the ceremonies with prominent collector Marshal Lightman, one of the fair’s strongest supporters and (along with wife Victoria Lightman) the Houston Art Alliance’s 2011 Texas Patron of the Year.

Fair director Fran Kaufman stood at the front of the large audience, taking questions from attendees.

“Donald has helped redefine the modern still-life painting,” Friedman said in his introduction, handing the fair's Lifetime Achievement Award to the artist.

“It’s always great to be in Texas,” laughed Sultan, who will join his sister — former Blaffer Gallery director Terrie Sultan — for an on-stage discussion Saturday at 11:30 a.m.

After the ceremony, CultureMap sighted philanthropist Carolyn Farb and Houston gallerist Wade Wilson. KTRK Channel 13 news anchor and Houston Museum of African American Culture board president Melanie Lawson was also spotted taking in the art.

Peter Zweig, a University of Houston architecture professor and an avid collector of contemporary art and design, said he was glad to see a major art fair in Houston, especially considering the city’s “internationally-acclaimed institutions and strong art community.”

The MFAH’s Core Program booth was possibly the busiest space at the Houston Fine Art Fair Thursday night. Fellow Gabriel Martinez — a photographer and mixed media artist in his second year of residency at Core — said “the program has a beloved group of supporters.” Critical arts writer Philip Keleher, a first-year fellow, was amazed by the number of pieces sold in just the first hour of the party.

Houston Fine Art Fair runs Friday through Sunday at the George R. Brown. Tickets are $17 a day or $26 for a three-day pass. The show goes from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.