THE CROWD:Art of Dining a feast in every way

It is arguably one of the top 10 social events of the year in Orange County. The Art of Dining, presented by the Board of Trustees of the Orange County Museum of Art, was held this weekend at the St. Regis Resort in Monarch Beach.

Attracting more than 400 elegant guests in black tie and ball gowns, the event raised more than $500,000 for the museum’s exhibitions and education programs.

Chaired by Newport’s Marsha Anderson and Joan Riach, the party was first class, befitting the standards of the two remarkably gifted chairs.

The evening began with a champagne reception underwritten by major donor Cartier, represented at the party by Caroline Jones of the South Coast Plaza Cartier Boutique. Jones has been a major supporter of the arts in O.C., front and center for the museum located in Fashion Island.

The crowd arrived at the St. Regis on Saturday night, sauntering through the lobby and descending the majestic curvilinear staircase to the lower ballroom level as the white-gloved wait staff passed silver trays of bubbling champagne.

St. Regis owner Paul Makarechian greeted the arriving crush on the steps wearing a black silk dinner suit and pale pink tie. The young scion of the Makarechian family has impressed the local crowd with his skill as a hotelier, as the St. Regis has become an Orange County destination with a very definite flair and ambience reminiscent of some of the finest European resorts in the south of France.

Art of Dining committee members transformed the enormous Pacific ballroom into a warm and inviting setting. Florists hung baskets of pink and white blossoms from the ceiling above the dance floor. Party designers used clear acrylic chairs that had the look of French Louis XV salon seating. The plastic chairs made the look of the room very modern and chic, all the while being the most comfortable banquet chairs one could enjoy sitting in for a long evening of festivities.

The crowd was slow to leave the cocktail reception in the outer lobby, enjoying the reconnection of many longtime friendships. They entered the dining room, and OCMA director Dennis Szakacs introduced the guest of honor of the night, artist Mary Heilmann.

The diminutive painter, wearing a sparkling pink dinner suit, looked more like a warm and gracious mother rather than a cutting-edge artist, who Szakacs referred to as possibly the most prominent living American artist of our time.

She was humble, funny and self-deprecating as she thanked the crowd and explained the path of her life from obscurity to international fame as a painter. Heilmann returned to her table to enjoy the evening with OCMA supporters as big screens in the front of the ballroom transmitted images of her work, which are primarily brilliantly colored abstractions.

Heilmann’s first major retrospective, titled “Mary Heilmann — To Be Someone,” opens May 20 at the Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach. Curated by OCMA’s Elizabeth Armstrong, the Heilmann exhibition — consisting of 65 paintings created over the past four decades along with selective examples of her ceramics and furniture designs — will begin in Newport Beach and then travel throughout the United States.

OCMA curators Elizabeth Armstrong, Karen Moss and Aimee Chang were on hand to celebrate Heilmann’s appearance at Art of Dining.

In years past, Art of Dining has been created around a massive multicourse extravaganza of food prepared by numerous celebrated chefs. In recent years, organizers have steered away from the gastronomic indulgence, preferring instead to serve a simpler dinner.

This year, the St. Regis staff did a spectacular job preparing a four-course meal that began with a trio of exotic appetizers, followed by salad, a fish course, a meat course and a decadent dessert. Outstanding wine selections made the meal even more memorable.

As the Al Cowling Band played on, the crowd danced between courses and table hopped. Among the prominent benefactors of the museum were Lilly and Paul Merage, Jean and Tim Weiss, Elizabeth and Henry Segerstrom, Joni and Hal Brice, Kelly and David Emmes, Susan and Mike Etchandy, Sally and Randy Crockett, Margaret and Robert Sprague, Pat and Gene Hancock, Jan and Mike Salta, Debbie Simon, Pat and Charles Steinmann and Daranne and Paul Folino.

Also supporting the museum event were Adeline and Robert Mah, Arlene Chang, David Tsoong, Betty Tu, Kelly Cole, Casey Gatrell, Charles and Twyla Martin, Anton and Jennifer Segerstrom, Alison Baker Frenzel, Pat and Carl Neisser, Teddie and Michael Ray, Jennings and Karen Pierce of Bayshores, Ariela Shani, Ellen and Michael Gordon, Susan and Eugene Spiritus, Melinda and Doug McCrea and Elena and Kirk Dawson.