What: One Great Night in November.
Where:Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
The scoop: More than 275 black-tie gents filled Cullinan Hall for the fall dinner that combines good food, fine wine and great art. As is the custom at this annual event, guests examined several works of art and decided which to purchase for the museum's permanent collection from the evening's proceeds. Two pieces, Portrait of Alexander Arnold Hannay (1908) by William Nicholson and Hogan’s Alley (2014) by Stan Douglas, received the most votes, as the crowd picked 17 pieces in all, totaling $361,000.
Guests dined on a hearty four-course dinner, catered by City Kitchen, that included pan seared Gulf Coast prawns, venison chop with spiced cherry chutney, and boneless beef short rib braised in red wine and aromatic vegetables with Yukon gold potato mash. Lee and Christina Hudson provided The Hudson 2014 Chardonnay and Michael Stewart underwrote the 2013 Stewart Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and 2013 Stewart Nomad Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.
Afterwards, some guests adjourned to an outdoor tent to enjoy a good cigar, thanks to Davidoff of Geneva.
In all, the evening raised $850,000.
Who: Cadence Bank president Hank Holmes (the bank was the Grand Underwriter for the evening), MFAH director Gary Tinterow, Jeff Hildebrand, Tony Petrello, Jim Flores, Bob McNair, Cal McNair, Cary McNair, Tony Sanchez, Gary Petersen, Meredith Long, Andrew Sarofim, Charles Duncan, John Duncan, Jonathan Finger, Alfred C. Glassell, III, Evan Katz, Rich Kinder, and Manolo Sanchez.
Ralph Eads, John Morton, Chuck Yates, Graydon Oliver.
