Hunt Slonem Honored at the Plaza

Hunt Slonem (b.1951) was honored for his contributions to the Casita Maria Center for Arts & Education at the Center’s annual Fiesta Gala at the Plaza Hotel in New York. He was awarded the Jackie Weld Drake Living Legend Award for his support of the Center.

 

“For the last 35 years I have attended and supported this Gala and Casita Maria,” Slonem said, “as a child, I wanted to be an artist due to the support I received in school. Casita Maria provides that same support, opening windows into the arts for many students in New York. Every child deserves a chance to dream, and together we can turn those dreams into reality.”

 

The Casita Maria Center was founded in 1934. It was the first charitable organization to serve the Latino community in New York City, with a nearly century-long legacy of strengthening children, families, and communities through arts and education.

 

 

Slonem’s distinctive works of birds, butterflies and other living things, are in the permanent collections of approximately 250 museums worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art, Joan Miró Foundation and New Orleans Museum of Art.

 

An exhibit of his work is currently being curated by the Huntsville Museum of Art. Safari Hunt: Hunt Slonem will be on view from March 27, 2027 through September 26, 2027.

 

---

 

The works of Fernando Botero (1932-2023) are currently on view at the Opera Gallery in London. The exhibit contains paintings, drawings and sculptures that Botero created during sixty-years of his career. 

 

 

Botero’s works were exhibited at Sotheby’s New York this past summer, with all works sold. According to the Artnet Price Database, total auction sales of his work reached an all-time high of $53.8 million in 2024, the same year his auction record was set at Christie’s with the $5.1 million sale of his 1979 painting The Musicians.

 

Fernando Botero: In Praise of an Amplified World is Botero’s first London show in ten years and will be on view through November 12, 2026.

 

---

 

References:

Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education Fiesta! 2026 Gala Honors Hunt Slonem. EIN Presswire. October 21, 2026.

Katie White. First Fernando Botero show in London for over a decade to open in October 2026. Artsy. August 13, 2026.

 

---

 

Please contact us if you would like more information about the works of Hunt Slonem and Fernando Botero available at Surovek Gallery.

October 22, 2026