ANNE FITZPATRICK

I Need a Hero Unveiled at the Gardner Museum

At most museums, the art is contained strictly within the walls, but in keeping with its namesake iconoclast, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum commissions public art installations to adorn its Anne H. Fitzpatrick facade.

The latest work, I Need a Hero by Pakistani artist Ambreen Butt, was unveiled at a breakfast reception that attracted a robust crowd for such an early morning, among them: the artist herself, beautiful benefactress Anne Fitzpatrick, museum head honcha Peggy Fogelman, deCordova grand poobah John Ravenal, art historian Diane Jensen, creative force of nature Rekha Purwaha, MassArt bigwig Lisa Tung, dynamite stick Barbara Quiroga, Beacon Hill beauty Tess Atkinson, the ravishing Heather Campion, uber-philanthropist Lisa Blumenthal, MFA jewelry dazzler Emily Stoehrer, the dashing and debonair Harry Pihl, the criminally handsome John Bradfield, perpetual peach blossom Simone Winston, and one person who realized she was blocking someone’s access to the coffee and said, “That’s even worse than standing in the way of the bar at a cocktail party.”

Everyone repaired to the Living Room for a light breakfast and remarks from Butt and contemporary art curator Pieranna Cavalchini, who put the installation into context with the museum, its collection and its ongoing commitment to contemporary art. The morning’s best comment: “Speaking of ‘new facade projects,’ I could use one myself.”