Baldwins Cook Up Tahitian Treat for Museum Donors

Ia Ora Na

That means welcome in Tahitian, and that’s what it said on the invitations sent to members of the Visionaries--a support group for the Newport Harbor Art Museum. About 140 guests RSVP’d--or whatever you call it in Tahiti--and made their way to the Polynesian-themed party at Nancy and Jim Baldwin’s Emerald Bay house Sunday night. The $65-per-person bash was a thank you to the year-old group’s membership for recent donations and participation in museum programs, said Lucille Adams, who chaired the event. First came the idea for a party, then the choice of house, then the theme, said Ginny Smallwood, president of the Visionaries’ board. And you could see why, once you got inside the artifact-stocked mansion: The Baldwins and their four children sailed around the world in the mid-’80s and picked up all kinds of totems and masks and other island goodies on their travels.

Ooh La La

They also collect art. Among contemporary pieces on display in their mammoth four-level house is a sculpture of a nude woman, casually seated near the entryway. To say the piece looks lifelike is to grossly understate the case. From her Farrah Fawcett-like hair to her pink toenails, this girl looked real . “I gave her to my husband for his birthday a few years ago,” Nancy Baldwin said, sitting on the plinth of another huge sculpture. “His employees had a company luncheon, and I brought her into the conference room. I put a blindfold on him and I said, ‘Honey, you have to guess what I got you, and you have to guess by sense of feel.’ He started at her toes and worked his way up her calves and when he got to the thighs he said, ‘I know what this is!’ and ripped off the blindfold.” Smiling wryly, Nancy added, “All his male employees decided that day they were big fans of modern art.”

Whole Lotta Shakin’

First there were cocktails, from a full bar featuring colorful blender drinks (strawberry daiquiris, pina coladas, mai tais and bright blue tequila slush). Then there was food, filling two buffets with silver warming pans of macadamia chicken, “coral” shrimp in peach sauce, beef teriyaki and mesquite broiled salmon with kiwi. Finally, as dusk deepened, guests drifted out onto the Baldwins’ many levels of porches to watch Polynesian dancers and percussionists perform in the beachfront yard. With the black ocean as their backdrop, the shaking, quaking performers sang and danced between the rock ponds, the Jacuzzi and the foliage. The hourlong show was a study in bronze skin, rippling grass skirts (his and hers) and nimble bare feet. Emcee Pete Seanoa told the audience: “Sit back and relax and have another drink--why not? The more you drink, the better we sound.”

Partying

The luau was organized by Catherine Thyen, Pat Allen, Joan Beall, Janet Corbin, Diana Sterling, Ronnie Allumbaugh, Hyla Bertea, Kathryn Wright, Nancy Tarnutzer, Junie Chong, Nora Hester and Mary Lou Hornsby. Also attending were Lois and Buzz Aldrin, Virginia and Paul Bender, Peggy and Bob Sprague, Barbara and Arthur Powell, Trish and John O’Donnell, Sandy and Jerry Brodie, Joanne and Ron Birtcher, and Dori and Jack deKruif.

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On her way downstairs, Sandy Brodie glanced up at the sculpture of the seated nude woman and quipped, “I think she’s left over from the last party. She looks a little tired, doesn’t she?”