Aperture Celebrates 2026 Gala

On Thursday, November 5, Aperture celebrated its 2026 Gala at the American Museum of Natural History, in the heart of the Upper West Side, home to Aperture’s newly opened headquarters at 380 Columbus Avenue in New York City. The evening honored acclaimed photographers Deana Lawson and Hiroshi Sugimoto. The annual benefit, Aperture’s most significant fundraising event of the year, raised over $1 million, providing essential funding that sustains and advances Aperture’s established history of supporting artists and creating landmark publications. The 2026 Aperture Gala was presented by Belmond.

Gala cochairs were Dr. Kathryn Beal, Allan and Anna Chapin, Catherine Gund and Anna Traggio, in memory of Agnes Gund, Dr. Bruce M. Halpryn and Chas Riebe, Lyle Ashton Harris, Arthur Jafa, Judy Glickman Lauder, Lisa Rosenblum and Georgina Celebic, and Thomas R. Schiff and Mary Ellen Goeke. To introduce the esteemed honorees, Sarah Meister saluted Hiroshi Sugimoto, and Dr. Kenneth Montague, Trustee, Aperture, presented Deana Lawson.

Remarking on Sugimoto’s remarkable six-decade career, Meister celebrated how the photographer has “redefined the metaphysical possibilities of the still image,” and noted that it was fitting to “celebrate him in the very museum” where his first photographic series, Dioramas, began.    

Dr. Montague then reflected on Lawson’s groundbreaking practice, stating that “Deana’s images are full of love for her community and her subjects radiate with a palpable energy that demands our attention and respect.”

Guests dined beneath the iconic ninety-four-foot-long blue whale model in the Irma and Paul Milstein Family Hall of Ocean Life. As part of the fundraising festivities, a silent auction featured artwork by more than a dozen artists central to Aperture’s publishing history, including Dawoud Bey, Lee Friedlander, and Justine Kurland. A spirited live auction conducted by Christy Coombs, Senior Vice President, Head of Sotheby’s Museum and Corporate Art Group, Americas, featured a gelatin-silver print by Hiroshi Sugimoto; a one-of-a-kind photograph from Richard Learoyd’s Flowers series; an unprecedented opportunity to sit for a commissioned portrait by Tina Barney, whose Fashion monograph (Aperture, 2026) was just released; a journey aboard Belmond’s legendary Venice Simplon-Orient-Express; and a private artist-led tour of Taryn Simon | Father Country I Do Love You on view at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.

Joining the celebration was a host of artists, curators, and supporters who have collaborated with Aperture on publications and programs over the years, including David Alekhuogie, Tina Barney, Dawoud Bey, Mitch Epstein, Rahim Fortune, E.A. KAHANE, Ethan James Green, Martine Gutierrez, Lyle Ashton Harris, Justine Kurland, An-My Lê, Danny Lyon, Philip Montgomery, Melissa O’Shaughnessy, Anastasia Samoylova, Stephen Shore, Taryn Simon, Coreen Simpson, and Deborah Willis.

Proceeds from the gala and auction sustain Aperture’s work as a nonprofit leader in the field of photography, including its award-winning publications, educational initiatives, touring exhibitions, and public programming. Aperture relies on contributions not only from the gala but also from dedicated readers and enthusiasts, and gratefully accepts donations of any amount through aperture.org/support.

Aperture thanks all of the 2026 Gala supporters, including Aperture Legacy Stars Judy Glickman Lauder and Thomas R. Schiff and Mary Ellen Goeke; Minor White Visionaries Dr. Kathryn Beal, Allan and Anna Chapin, Catherine Gund and Anna Traggio, in memory of Agnes Gund, Dr. Bruce M. Halpryn and Chas Riebe, and Lisa Rosenblum and Georgina Celebic; Dorothea Lange Leaders Mark Gimbel and Dede Welles, Elizabeth and William Kahane, MUUS Collection, and Melissa and James O’Shaughnessy; and Ansel Adams Advocates S. B. Cooper and R. L. Besson, Gregory and Aline Gooding, Terry Hermanson, Ingram Content Group, Cathy M. Kaplan and Renwick D. Martin, Philippe Laumont, Leica Camera, and Dr. Stephen W. Nicholas and Ellen Sargent. 

Thanks to those who made the live auction possible, including Sotheby’s, along with Fraenkel Gallery, Gallery Koyanagi, Lisson Gallery, Richard Learoyd, Tina Barney, Belmond, Taryn Simon, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Images from the evening are posted on BFA.com.