On Thursday, November 16th, a prestigious gala-clad crowd of 200 gathered at the University Club in New York City for the annual French Heritage Society gala. The club is a fitting location for this most prestigious event as not only is it a historic and architectural landmark, but it also exemplifies the grace, elegance, and style of the Golden Age. It was especially fitting for this highly regarded event as the FHS chairwoman Elizabeth Stribling honored award-winning architect Gil Schafer III.
French Heritage Society (FHS) is an American nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect the French architectural and cultural legacy in France and the United States. FHS hosts about 50 events yearly including annual fundraising galas in New York, Palm Beach, and Paris. FHS focuses on Preservation, Education, and Cultivation of French-American Friendship. FHS has awarded nearly $15 million in grants to over 670 châteaux, historic properties, and gardens. Funds have also supported the restoration of Notre Dame on Île de la Cité in Paris one of the finest examples of French Gothic Architecture. FHS also supported restoration after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Additionally, FHS hosts trips for its members and selects 30 French students a year for internships in the U.S. In 1990 The Richard Morris Hunt Prize, partnered with The Architects Foundation, to create a cross-cultural exchange for architects between France and the U.S.
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“Why is Gil being honored by French Heritage Society? He’s not French. He doesn’t even have an office in France. The answer is, just as French Heritage Society does, he celebrates the past to inspire today. Gil makes houses that look old. In fact, you would never know, there’s not a clue that they’re not 200 years old, but they’ve got lots of modern amenities in them and everything looks superb. Gil builds houses that celebrate the classical architecture of the past to bridge the years to today. Just as French Heritage Society restores the beauty of the past to inspire us today.”
“Travel is so important for expanding our understanding of the world around us”, said Schafer. “For an architect, it’s an essential component of the creative process. Looking and learning about the heritage of the places we visit makes us more able to create meaningful places back home where we live and work. That has certainly been true for me. Although my projects don’t have an overtly French flavor to them, they’re nevertheless the product of studying the scale and details, the landscape and character, of all the places I’ve visited in France and elsewhere over the last 50 years. This is why I’m so thrilled to support this organization. Not only do they pride themselves on working to preserve the heritage of the exceptional places in France and its culture, but they also bring American students to those places, to learn from them and be inspired by them, just as I have been. I hope tonight you will allow me to make a toast to all of you for supporting this extraordinary mission, and for helping to ensure that the French heritage we all love will endure and inspire for generations to come.”
FHS Executive Director Jennifer Herlein shared, “Everyone here tonight makes it possible for French Heritage Society to award vital restoration grants, sponsor career-defining student internships, and organize meaningful cultural programming. We are so grateful for your indispensable support towards our mission of preserving French architecture and culture for future generations. In 2023 French Heritage Society was able to award nearly $500,000 to 16 restoration projects in France, two restoration projects in the United States, and one cultural project; to support 19 dynamic student internship opportunities for the next generation of preservationists at esteemed cultural institutions on both sides of the Atlantic; and foster cultural exchange through more than 40 programs and events!”
Board Member CeCe Black thanked FHS President Denis de Kergorlay and Deputy Consul General of France in New York Damien Laban, as well as fellow Gala Chairs Liz McDermott Barnes, Michael Kovner, Jean Doyen de Montaillou, Jean Shafiroff, and Ann Van Ness. Shafiroff wore a pink sequined Carolina Herrera ball gown, Nisha Pastreich, wore black and white silk Zang Toi with pearl details, and Barbara Tober wore Oscar de la Renta, as the three danced the night away to music by the Alex Donner Orchestra. They were joined by guests including FHS Board Members Yann Coatanlem, Timothy Corrigan, Christian Draz, Rosann Gutman, Judy McLaren, Jean Doyen de Montaillou, George P. Sape, and Jacqueline Wilson, as well as Lea Attalla and Timothy Mara, Lee Black, Sharon Bush, Geoffrey Bradfield, Liliana Cavendish, Bonnie Comley and Stewart F. Lane, Maria and Kenneth Fishel, Lee Fryd, Meera Gandhi, Penny Grant, Marifé Hernandez and Joel Bell, Brenda and Jim Howard, Lisa Hunt and Malcolm McCulloch, Lucia Hwong Gordon, Margo Langenberg, Kamie Lightburn, Vanessa Noel, Danielle Rollins and Tom D’Agostino, Jr., Daisy Soros, William Steel and Chris Drake, William Van Ness, Stephen Whyte and Rebecca Ralston and many more.
Photos by Annie Watt Agency , Getty Images & Patrick McMullan
