A starry night in one of the warmest Novembers on record formed the backdrop for DART's first special event for subscribers. Hosted by Museum of the City of New York last Monday, the evening began with refreshments and socializing amid the marble splendor of the main floor arcade.

The occasion was a private gallery tour of Willing to be Lucky: Ambitious New Yorkers in the Pages of LOOK. The show's title comes from a 1949 story by E.B. White, who wrote, "No one should come to New York to live unless he is willing to be lucky." So lucky were our guests, who were treated to an entertaining tour given by curators Donald Albrecht and Tom Mellins.

But first, they introduced the Museum's highlights, including its history of creating a visible city through photography. Apart from its exhibitions and public programs, MCNY houses an outstanding Collection of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs, an accessible treasure trove for art directors and picture editors. In addition to the LOOK Collection are photographs by Berenice Abbott, Samuel H. Gottscho, Jacob Riis, early photographic views of New York, the most complete collection of hand-colored Currier and Ives prints in existence, and more.

Having studied the 200,000 or so LOOK photos in the museum's archive, Donald and Tom offered a feast of information and anecdotes about the images they finally selected for the show. An easy repartee ensued as they took turns speaking about the cast of characters that inhabit this polished installation.

If you missed the special DART evening at MCNY, you can catch up with Donald and Tom this Sunday, December 3rd. They will give a gallery tour at 2:00 pm followed by a screening of Stanley Kubrick's early film, Killer's Kiss, which he shot in New York.

Top: Back row, from right: Donald Albrecht, Curator, MCNY; Barbara Livenstein, VP Communications, MCNY; Mark Heflin, Director, AI-AP; Peggy Roalf, Editor-in-Chief, DART.
Middle: DART subscribers get the inside scoop on Stanley Kubrick's boxing photographs for LOOK.
Bottom: Curator Tom Mellins talks about performers odd enough to attract a LOOK photographer's attention.
Photos ©2006 Hiro Kaneyama