The city’s most art-minded philanthropists gathered at the Dallas Museum of Art Saturday night for the 2014 Art Ball, which transported attendees to 1920s Paris courtesy of event designer Tom Addis. The très chic evening commenced with a reception in the sculpture garden, where beaming event chair Gina Betts could finally appreciate the fruits of her labors.

To set the tone, models masked behind elaborate headpieces and hand-painted, skin-tight clothing became living works of art, in tribute to Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. Equally eye-catching were lovely ladies dressed in head-to-toe gold, who wheeled around gilded hoop skirts adorned with champagne-filled flutes. Talk about a cool party trick.

Just as the artfully dressed crowd — including Anne and Steve Stodghill, Erin Mathews, Russ Davis, Kari and Troy Kloewer, Gillian and Mark Breidenbach, Brian Bolke, Faisal Halum, Barbara and Don Daseke, Warren Weitman, and Eve Reid — really began to swell, a rousing performance by a troupe of cancan dancers signaled that dinner was about to begin in the tented Ross Avenue Plaza. The multicourse meal — French pork and chicken pâté, citrus-marinated salmon with confit of navel oranges, and tournedos of beef with foie gras and Roquefort pâté aux pommes de terre — was apropos of the evening’s French theme.

With supporters settled in, DMA director Maxwell L. Anderson took the stage for opening remarks. He offered heartfelt thanks to Betts, gala honorees Jennifer and John Eagle, and honorary chairmen Nancy and Richard Rogers. Then it was time for the live auction, with packages ranging from trips to New York, Napa Valley, Paris and the Galapagos Islands to fine jewels by Sue Gragg and a coveted Hermès Birkin bag.

Once ample funds from the live auction were secured for the museum’s coffers, it was time for the real entertainment to begin: a soulful, intimate concert by Grammy Award winner John Legend. Although it’s nearly impossible to pick just one highlight from the performance, Legend’s rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” won’t soon be forgotten — especially because it was likely captured via cell phone video by more than a few fans in the audience.

After Legend’s performance, it was back to the sculpture garden for the after-party, where the revelry continued thanks to dance music provided by Parisian DJ Stephane Pompougnac. The City of Light had nothing on Dallas during this enchanted evening.

The Dallas Museum of Art’s annual Art Ball has raised more than $20 million to support the museum in its mission of engaging and educating the community.

Walter Elcock, Laura Elcock

Photo by Hoyoung Lee

Walter Elcock, Laura Elcock