Warhol Wild Hosted by Tippi Hedren

Last night R and I attended the opening of Warhol Wild at Hamilton Selway Fine Art in West Hollywood. Warhol Wild is a collection of unique animal screen prints, drawings and collages by my favorite pop artist, Andy Warhol. The opening reception was hosted by Hollywood screen legend, Tippi Hedren (of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds) for the benefit of The Roar Foundation for the Shambala Preserve.

The Shambala Preserve is Ms. Hedren’s passion. A home for over 70 stray lions, tigers, cougars, leopards and other big cats, the Shambala Preserve provides a safe environment for these forgotten animals. Shambala’s non-profit, The Roar Foundation, provides education to the public about the dangers of private ownership of exotic animals.

The benefit was a smashing success. Money and awareness were raised for Ms. Hedren's foundation. And Andy Warhol’s spectacular screen prints of various animals (zebras, frogs, orangutan, tigers and more) were vibrating with life and color and were admired by all who attended.

Meeting Tippi Hedren (pictured above with R and me) was especially special for me as I am an avid Hitchcock fan and count many of his films among my all time favorites. Ms. Hedren is an absolute delight- as sophisticated as I imagined and completely passionate about her shelter for wild cats. We had a particularly interesting conversation about the importance of adopting animals. (B and I adopted Gatsby three years ago and have been delighted by his presence ever since).

For me it has been a fascinating week. Two Hollywood Legends (see The Daily Connoisseur meets Carol Channing), two great charities and a fabulous evening of art and friends…

The Warhol Wild exhibit will run through October 2nd, 2009. A portion of all proceeds to that date will benefit the Shambala Preserve.

For more information on Hamilton Selway Fine Art and the Warhol Wild collection, please visit: www.hamiltonselway.com

For more information on The Shambala Preserve, please visit: www.shambala.org