Report by David Cohen, Photos by Hal Horowitz
NEW YORK CITY: Wednesday, April 10. The Drawing Center honored Sean Scully at its annual gala this year in true Irish style with the artist’s buddy Bono proposing a raucous, poetic toast. The honoree responded in kind with a stirring tribute to his hosts. Bucking a trend in which institutions double their footprint or decamp to trendier locales as soon as the itch to expand takes hold, the Drawing Center, under long serving executive director Brett Littman, has remained true to their roots in SoHo, skillfully reshaping and upgrading their premises but staying put on Wooster Street and in the idea of drawing, albeit in a seemingly ever-expanding definition of the activity. Scully’s traveling exhibition, Sean Scully: Change and Horizontals, currently in Rome, focusing on a key transitional year in the 1970s, was organized by the Drawing Center, where it will show this fall. The gala, meanwhile, at the Tribeca Rooftop, attracted an assortment of the artist’s rock star friends, including one from the kitchen!
![Mario Batali, Michael Stipe, Bono and Sean Scully at the Drawing Center Gala, April 10, 2013. Photo by Hal Horowitz Mario Batali, Michael Stipe, Bono and Sean Scully at the Drawing Center Gala, April 10, 2013. Photo by Hal Horowitz](https://www.artcritical.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/batali.jpg)
![Sean Scully, Brett Littman, Corban Walker (front) and David Cohen at the Drawing Center Gala, April 10, 2013. Photo by Hal Horowitz Sean Scully, Brett Littman, Corban Walker (front) and David Cohen at the Drawing Center Gala, April 10, 2013. Photo by Hal Horowitz](https://www.artcritical.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/sean-brett-corban-me.jpg)
![Waqas Wajahat and Elizabeth Schwartz at the Drawing Center Gala, April 10, 2013. Photo by Hal Horowitz Waqas Wajahat and Elizabeth Schwartz at the Drawing Center Gala, April 10, 2013. Photo by Hal Horowitz](https://www.artcritical.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/W-and-lady.jpg)
![Nova Benway, Lisa Sigal, Lucy Freeman Sandler and Irving Sandler at the Drawing Center Gala, April 10, 2013. Photo by Hal Horowitz Nova Benway, Lisa Sigal, Lucy Freeman Sandler and Irving Sandler at the Drawing Center Gala, April 10, 2013. Photo by Hal Horowitz](https://www.artcritical.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/irving-and-lucy1.jpg)
![Susan Brearey and Anna Cherubino at the Drawing Center Gala, April 10, 2013. Photo by Hal Horowitz Susan Brearey and Anna Cherubino at the Drawing Center Gala, April 10, 2013. Photo by Hal Horowitz](https://www.artcritical.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/girls-at-your-table-71x71.jpg)
![Jack & Deanna King at the Drawing Center Gala, April 10, 2013. Photo by Hal Horowitz Jack & Deanna King at the Drawing Center Gala, April 10, 2013. Photo by Hal Horowitz](https://www.artcritical.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/kings-71x71.jpg)
![Joost Elffers and Pat Steir at the Drawing Center Gala, April 10, 2013. Photo by Hal Horowitz Joost Elffers and Pat Steir at the Drawing Center Gala, April 10, 2013. Photo by Hal Horowitz](https://www.artcritical.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/pat-steir-71x71.jpg)
![John Mcenroe and Michael Stipe at the Drawing Center Gala, April 10, 2013. Photo by Hal Horowitz John Mcenroe and Michael Stipe at the Drawing Center Gala, April 10, 2013. Photo by Hal Horowitz](https://www.artcritical.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/mcenroe-stipe-71x71.jpg)
![Bono and Francis Beatty Adler at the Drawing Center Gala, April 10, 2013. Photo by Hal Horowitz Bono and Francis Beatty Adler at the Drawing Center Gala, April 10, 2013. Photo by Hal Horowitz](https://www.artcritical.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/bono-and-adler-71x71.jpg)