New York, NY (May 10, 2011) - Gillian Hearst and Billy Norwich hosted a cocktail party for the artist Garrett Chingery at The Sanctuary Hotel on W. 47th Street on Monday, May 9th.  Two hundred tastemakers including Julie Macklowe, Jamie Tisch, Elizabeth Peabody, Louise Grunwald, Jean Shafiroff, Jill Fairchild, Ashley and Lauren Remington Platt, Cassandra Seidenfeld, Chappy and Melissa Morris, Marina Rust, R. Couri Hay, Stephanie LaCava, Christian Simonds, Dora Frost and Sally Phipps joined the hotel’s owners Hank and Brandon Freid to preview Chingery's works at the renovated hotel, which will have a soft opening later this month and officially open its doors in the Fall of 2011. Marjorie Gubelmann, Michele Gerber Klein, Mark W. Smith, Alice Judelson, Hanna Fazylova, Elaine Sargent, CeCe Cord, Dr. Robert Grant, Maggie Norris, Cindy Guyer, Dr. Nicholas Toscano, Melissa Berkelhammer, and Dr. Shawn Sadri were also on hand for The Sanctuary Hotel’s first art exhibition.

The cocktail party featured an installation of Chingery’s art in the hotel’s lobby in what will become the hotel’s restaurant. An homage to Elizabeth Taylor titled “The Face that Launched a Thousand Ships” was displayed over an elongated gas fireplace. Garrett Chingery’s colorful and masterfully executed mixed media pieces included contemporary portraits and paintings of the human form. The exhibition will remain on display until May 20^th.

For more information, please contact Marie Assante at R. Couri Hay Creative Public Relations, 212-580-0835 or marie@rcourihaycpr.com