Aspen Art Museum Raises Over $2.5 Million at Annual Summer Benefit

The Aspen Art Museum held its fourteenth annual ArtCrush summer benefit on Friday, August 3rd, the cherry on top of the of three-day cake of events and talks. The benefit raised an astounding $2.5 million for the museum’s year-round curatorial and educational programming.

The week kicked off on Wednesday, August 1, with WineCrush – a private cocktail and dinner party hosted in the Aspen home of Event Chair Amy Phelan and husband, AAM board Chairman, John Phelan. Thursday evening included a special AAM Artist Talk with AAM’s CEO and Director Heidi Zuckerman with Rashid Johnson, followed by PreviewCrush and PreviewExtra, the auction preview hosted by Baldwin Gallery and Casterline|Goodman Gallery.

For the main event, which took place on Buttermilk Mountain, over 500 of the world’s most distinguished and influential art collectors, artists, gallerists, museum professionals, and business leaders gathered to honor artist Rashid Johnson with the prestigious Aspen Award for Art.

Guests were greeted to silver curtains and mirror ball chandeliers highlighting STONEFOX’s festive Cosmic Utopia theme, which continued throughout both the reception space and the glittering dinner tent. Attendees enjoyed wine tastings, dinner, and a silent and live auction led by Oliver Barker of Sotheby’s.

As the live auction and dinner concluded, guests made their way from the dinner tent to enjoy dessert stations featuring some of Rashid Johnson’s favorite desserts, including donuts and pecan pie, and then onto shuttles to transport them to the evening’s celebratory finale—AfterPartyCrush held in partnership with Aspen’s BellyUp nightclub. Guests danced the night away with a DJ-set mixed by iconic artist and music producer Jellybean Benitez.

Notable Guests included Rashid Johnson (2018 Aspen Award for Art Honoree), Oliver Barker (Chairman, Sotheby’s Europe, Senior International Specialist, Contemporary Art), Marianne Boesky, the Haas Brothers, Toby Devan Lewis, Susan and Larry Marx, Susan Miller, JoAnna and Stephen Myers, Amy and John Phelan, Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn, Ali and Lew Sanders, June and Paul Schorr III, and Jamie Tisch.