You may recognize this intriguing art-meets-culinary style title from a previous book published by Assouline, entitled Dinner with Jackson Pollock. The reason is Robyn Lea, the powerhouse photographer, writer, and director is responsible for the discoveries of art world masters who have been hiding their ties to cooking throughout the duration of their creative lives. For over a century, Lea has been working internationally to create a powerful dialogue around the many ties between culture and lifestyle, and has created an array of campaigns and books for brands like Vogue Italia, BMW, and Vaseline. In addition, she’s had over 10 solo exhibitions, sponsored by organizations like Kodak and Peroni.
In 2011, while visiting the Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center—once home to Jackson Pollock and his wife Lee Krasner in East Hampton, New York—Lea discovered a treasure trove of unpublished, handwritten recipes that belonged to the artist. The powerful connection between the artist’s art and his love for nature and cooking propelled her to create the first cookbook of its kind, which was published by Assouline in 2015. Just two years later, Lea released her second cookbook, this time dedicated to artist Georgia O’Keeffe’s flavorful fetes, and her home life in New Mexico.
Courtesy of Robyn Lea
At Mario Batali’s La Sirena in New York this past Monday, we celebrated the launch of Dinner with Georgia O’Keeffe with a culinary presentation inspired by recipes from the book, including bites prepared by the restaurant’s Michelin-starred Chef Anthony Sasso and cocktails by VDKA6100. It was a lovely exchange of creativity between the two rooms, with the front anchoring a large image of New Mexico (the perfect backdrop for photos with attendees like Timo Weiland, Nicky Hilton Rothschild, and Prosper and Alexandre Assouline) and an elegant table, decorate with flowers, cactuses, and towers of books at which Lea greeted guests and signed copies. Down the hallway, the second sprawling room welcomed attendees to a photo booth by Sharingbox, floral arrangements by Oscar Mora, elegant framed screens showing art and images from the book by Meural, and lively music by DJ Franco V.
Courtesy of Robyn Lea.
