Event: The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s Annual Gala and Late Night 2025
Date: April 10, 2025
Photos (76): Drew Altizer, Andrew Caulfield and Mahelly Ferreira for Drew Altizer Photography
SAN FRANCISCO – On Thursday, April 10, 2025, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (the “Fine Arts Museums”) hosted museum supporters, artists, and luminaries at the de Young for its largest fundraiser, the black-tie Annual Gala and vibrant Late Night after-party.
Chaired by long-standing museum supporters Trustee Lynn Poole and Edward Poole, this year’s event raised $1.7 million for the Fine Arts Museums – the most ever in museum Gala history. All proceeds raised during the Annual Gala benefit a dynamic exhibition program at the de Young and the Legion of Honor, the care of the permanent collection, and impactful and engaging educational and community programming for Bay Area audiences.
Throughout the evening, guests celebrated the artistic community of San Francisco, enjoying performances and activations by local artists. This year’s Gala honored two cultural leaders: Dagmar Dolby, a philanthropist, tireless champion for the Bay Area’s vibrant cultural landscape, and former Trustee of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, and Isaac Julien, a groundbreaking filmmaker and installation artist whose first major US retrospective premiered at the Gala. Julien is the creator of Lessons of the Hour, a major video installation acquired by the Fine Arts Museums for its permanent collection, that presents an immersive and poetic portrait of the life and work of Frederick Douglass. In celebration of that work, Kenneth B. Morris, Douglass’s great-great-great grandson, gave a tribute to Julien at the gala.
“Our 2025 Annual Gala was both a celebration of our extraordinary collection and programs, and a moment to reflect on art’s capacity to inspire and unite,” said Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. “We are grateful to the supporters, artists, and community members who contributed to the evening’s vibrancy, and whose support ensures that the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco will continue to be a vital center for creativity and the arts.”
Gala guests savored a seated multi-course dinner, catered by McCall’s Catering and Events, with caviar by local favorite The Caviar Co. and wines by Bryant Imports and Hertelendy Vineyards. During the night’s festivities, all guests enjoyed full access to the de Young museum’s permanent collection and special exhibitions – including the popular photography presentation Paul McCartney Photographs 1963–64: Eyes of the Storm. The evening also served as a premiere for the highly anticipated, major multichannel video exhibition by honoree Sir Isaac Julien, Isaac Julien: I Dream a World.
After the Gala dinner concluded, the Fine Arts Museums welcomed nearly 1,000 supporters for the buzzing afterparty, Late Night. In addition to having full access to the museum, Late Night guests danced in Wilsey Court to a Goldenvoice Presents headliner performance by Ravyn Lenae. As they explored the museum, party attendees sampled elevated bar bites with a caviar finish in The Caviar Co. lounge, posed for a custom Le Feels Speed Portraits with illustrator Ali Rybczyk, sat for Polaroid portraits from Anna-Alexia Basile and enjoyed performances by Tauwoo and Nkechi Njaka in the Hamon Observation Tower’s observation level.
