THE PARRISH ART MUSEUM’S 2026 MIDSUMMER GALA RAISED OVER $1.7 MILLION FOR THE MUSEUM’S EDUCATION AND CULTURAL INITATIVES
Artists Enoc Perez, Joan Semmel, Hiroshi Sugimoto and In Memoriam Pat Steir Honored for Artistic Vision.
Philanthropist Ellen Katz Honored for Her Enduring Impact on Arts, Culture and Community in the East End.
Water Mill, NY | July 19, 2026 – On Saturday, July 18, the Parrish Art Museum welcomed more than 700 guests, including artists, collectors, curators, philanthropists, and cultural and civic leaders from the Hamptons, New York City, and beyond, for its annual benefit, Midsummer Gala: A Night in the Clouds. The event raised over $1,700,000 in support of the Museum’s exhibitions, education initiatives, and inclusive programming, with donations still coming in. A dynamic paddle raise, led by Rachael White Young of Christie’s, helped to significantly support initiatives including ACCESS PARRISH and the Parrish’s year-round student programming. Celebrating its 10th Anniversary, ACCESS PARRISH provides tailored arts experiences to individuals living with a range of neurodivergent and other physical and mental disabilities. Student programming highlights include the Student Art Exhibition, now entering its 74th year, which presents the work of more than 1,000 young artists from local schools; as well as the Parrish’s ARTscope Teen Council, a paid internship program focused on developing career pathways in the arts. As the Museum’s most significant annual fundraiser, the Midsummer Gala underscores the Parrish’s mission to foster accessibility, creativity, and community through the arts.
Gen Aihara, Enoc Perez, Joan Semmel, Lily Sukoneck-Cohen, Andrew Keith, Mónica Ramírez Montagut, Photo by: Bre Johnson/BFA.com
At the Gala, Executive Director, Dr. Mónica Ramírez-Montagut recognized this year’s gala honorees: philanthropist Ellen Katz and artists Enoc Perez, Joan Semmel, Hiroshi Sugimoto and, in memoriam, Pat Steir.
“We’ve just recently begun to honor the people that help make the museum successful—our philanthropists. Ellen is a perfect example of that,” said Fred Seegal, Chairman of the Parrish Board. “Not only has she underwritten exhibitions, she has purchased artwork, she has lent us artwork, she’s entertained at her house, and tonight, she’s invited her friends and admirers, helping to make this one of the most successful galas ever.”
“Nothing brings me more joy than to be able to honor the artists that make our communities thrive by the sheer access to their work,” said Dr. Ramírez-Montagut. Each of the artist honorees have provided vital contributions to the Parrish community: Time Exposed: Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Seascapes was on view from September 13, 2025–February 8, 2026; Joan Semmel: My Own Muse will be presented from April 3–September 6, 2027; and Enoc Perez will be exhibited from October 1, 2028–February 11, 2029.
Dr. Ramírez-Montagut recognized the recent passing of honoree Pat Steir, stating, “We are delighted to honor her in memoriam not only through this evening, where we celebrate her life and her work, but also the upcoming exhibition next summer, when we will be surrounded be her monumental, expansive work, and hoping to be able to honor her legacy in the best way possible here at the Parrish.” Steir’s work will be highlighted in Pat Steir: Color Wheel and Waterfalls, which will be on view at the Parrish from May 8–September 26, 2027.
The 2026 Midsummer Gala was led by Dinner Co-Chairs, Charlotte Pilaro and Yanina Fuertes, and Afterglow Chair, Alexandra Dennett, with the support of Host Committee members, Frederic M. Seegal and Jonathan Simkhai, as well as Corporate Chair, Capital One.
Vinnie Kumar, Steven Horowitz, Astrid Hill Lloyd, Kimberly Taylor, Fred Seegal, Sandy Perlbinder, Charlotte Pilaro, Marty Cordes, Andrea Pemberton, Karen Mehiel, Louis Meisel, Photo by: Bre Johnson/BFA.com
Among the distinguished guests were artists Sanford Biggers, Sheree Hovsepian, Gwen O’Neil, Enoc Perez, Ugo Rondinone, Will Ryman, Joan Semmel, and Nina Yankowitz. Notables in attendance included Astrid Hill, John and Justine Leguizamo, Lisa and Richard Perry, Chris and Christina Cuomo, Gabby Karan and Gianpaolo de Felice, Assemblyman Tommy John Schiavoni, NY State Representative Rebecca Seawright, Karen and Dennis Mehiel, HH Sheikha Alia Al-Maktoum, and Jonathan Simkhai.
Artist Sheree Hovsepian will also be the subject of an upcoming solo exhibition at the Parrish. SHEREE HOVSEPIAN: CAPTURING THE ‘THAT-HAS-BEEN’ will be on view from September 18, 2027–April 9, 2028.
The Parrish Art Museum’s Board of Trustees includes Chair Frederic M. Seegal; President Steven J. Horowitz; Co-Vice Presidents Henry Richardson and Sandy Perlbinder; Treasurer George Wells; and Secretary Martha McLanahan. Trustees include Andrea Myers Achi, Nina Sarin Arias, Ruchira Bhuyan, Sherri Cohen, Suzi Cordish, Marty Cordes, Yanina Fuertes, David Granville-Smith, Notoya Green, Astrid Hill Lloyd, Vinnie Kumar, Andrea Pemberton, Charlotte Lucas Pilaro, Karen Mehiel, Louis K. Meisel, Aima Raza, Alexandra Stanton, Kimberly Taylor, and Elizabeth Zeckendorf.
The Midsummer Gala at the Parrish is held throughout the Museum’s galleries, terraces, and iconic meadows. Guests walked through exhibitions on view, including Tony Bechara: An Artist of Many Worlds, FRESH PAINT: Emmi Whitehorse, Dennis Oppenheim: Wishing the Mountains Madness 1977 / 2026, Sanford Biggers: Drift, Will Ryman: Shanghai 6, and Ellsworth Kelly: Eight Decades. Attendees also enjoyed cocktails, set to live music by The Dixons, and a sunset dinner and paddle raise on the Mildred C. Brinn Terrace. Guests sipped drinks from the Casa Dragones bar and took home keepsakes from the Capital One photo booth.
Allegra Sky Leguizamo, John Leguizamo, Sanford Biggers, Arana Hankin-Biggers, Photo by: Bre Johnson/BFA.com
Lush décor by Arthur Golabek Flowers and catering by Thomas Preti Events to Savor transformed the evening into an immersive celebration of creativity and connection. Guests enjoyed a delicious dinner featuring sesame crusted shrimp and corn nut crusted steelhead trout, followed by a dessert of coconut key lime cake. Performances by Parsons Dance were a highlight of the event, taking place throughout the evening. The Afterglow Dance Party in the Lichtenstein Theater, headlined by DJ Jason Fioto Generation Events, brought an influx of energy. Guests commandeered the dance floor until Midnight and enjoyed desserts from the coffee and donut lounge, courtesy of Capital One.
Photo by: Bre Johnson/BFA.com
MIDSUMMER GALA CORPORATE CHAIR:
ABOUT CAPITAL ONE
Capital One Financial Corporation is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A., and Capital One Bank (USA), N.A., offer a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “COF” and is included in the S&P 500 index. Capital One’s subsidiaries provide a range of credit, deposits, and lending products for customers across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
ADDITIONAL SPONSORS
Casa Dragones Tequila, Crozier Fine Arts, Greenberg Traurig, Michael Kors, and Related Ross Luxury Residential Collection.
ARTIST HONOREES
ENOC PEREZ
Enoc Perez is a Puerto Rican artist celebrated for luminous paintings and oil stick drawings of modernist architecture, often inspired by landmarks in Puerto Rico and New York. Drawing on influences from Pop art, Warhol, and Duchamp, his works explore nostalgia, utopian ideals, and the allure of media imagery. His work is in the Parrish collection and will be the subject of an upcoming solo exhibition from October 1, 2028–February 11, 2029.
JOAN SEMMEL
Trained as an abstract painter, Joan Semmel has explored the subject of the female nude since the 1970s, primarily using her own body as a site to examine intertwined themes of sexuality, aging, power, feminism, autonomy, and the intimacy of human relationships. Joan Semmel: My Own Muse will be on view at the Parrish from April 3–September 6,2027.
HIROSHI SUGIMOTO
Hiroshi Sugimoto is a Japanese photographer and architect whose work explores time, memory, and perception through meticulously crafted black-and-white series such as Dioramas, Theaters, and Seascapes. Known for long exposures with a large-format camera, his images blend technical mastery with conceptual depth. A Parrish collection artist, his work was featured in the 2025 exhibition Time Exposed: Hiroshi Sugimoto’s Seascapes.
PAT STEIR
Pat Steir was a painter and printmaker best known for her monumental abstract “Waterfall” paintings created by pouring and splashing paint so gravity and chance shaped the imagery. Emerging from minimalism and conceptualism, she blended process art with Eastern philosophy. She also co-founded Printed Matter and the feminist journal Heresies. Pat Steir: Color Wheel and Waterfalls will be on view at the Parrish from May 8–September 26, 2027.
PHILANTHROPIC HONOREE
ELLEN KATZ
Ellen Katz, originally from Dayton, Ohio, divides her time between Arizona and New York where she is a passionate supporter of both the arts as well as health and science initiatives. A lifelong admirer and collector of contemporary art, particularly Abstract Expressionism, Katz is an honorary trustee and former chair of the Phoenix Art Museum, as well as a life trustee of her alma mater, Northwestern University, where she studied art history as an undergraduate. She also serves as a trustee and board secretary of the Barrow Neurological Foundation, an emeritus trustee of the Mount Sinai Health System and, has served as a founding board member of the Child Mind Institute since 2011.
About the Parrish Art Museum
The Parrish Art Museum is a place to discover and connect with artists and art with a focus on the rich creative legacy of the East End and its global impact on the art world. Inspired by the natural setting and historical artistic community of Long Island’s East End, the Parrish Art Museum celebrates its legacy through a distinctive contemporary lens and socially conscious global context. The Parrish illuminates the creative process and how art, architecture, and design transform our experiences and our communities, and how we relate to the world. Access to relevant cultural engagement, artistic inspiration, a natural environment, and architectural ingenuity characterizes the Museum experience as a unique destination for the region, the nation, and the world.
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