Well-heeled art lovers traveled downtown (can you believe they left zip code 10021?) to the oh-so-trendy Meatpacking District to view the paintings by Rosita, the Duchess of Marlborough, at the Lars Bolander NY showroom. The event was hosted by Bolander and his wife, Nadine Kalachnikoff. Lending royal support: Princess Michael of Kent and Princess Mimi Romanoff.

The Spanish-born Rosita, daughter of a Swedish diplomat, studied art in Sweden, America, and France before becoming the third wife of John (“Sunny”) Spencer-Churchill in 1972—just as he inherited the title of the 11th Duke of Marlborough and the family seat, Blenheim Palace, in Oxfordshire. She placed her career on hold for two decades to raise their two children, Lord Edward and Lady Alexandra Spencer-Churchill. Then in 1995, Rosita had her first solo exhibition in London’s West End—portraits of dogs and horses. A trip to Morocco in 1996 became as important to her work as Gaugin’s trip to Tahiti was to his. Since then, her artwork, found in collections world-wide, has been defined by light and vibrant color.

Among the notables: Deborah Norville, Cornelia Guest, Hilary Geary and Wilbur Ross, Anne Bass, David Astor, Kenneth Lane, former U.S. Ambassador (to Ireland) Jean Kennedy Smith, Cynthia and Dan Lufkin, Nan Kempner, Carolina and Reinaldo Herrera, Roberto and Joanne de Guardiola, Tobie Roosevelt, Christopher Mason, Michele and Edwin Sayres, Wendy Vanderbilt Lehman, Ann Rapp, Carl Spielvogel and Barbaralee Diamonstein Spielvogel, and Royce Pinkwater. A royal, downtown evening!