Library Lions Gala

Susan Magrino, Linda Fargo and Mark Gilbertson descended the famous staircase.

Inside the Rose Main Reading Room of the New York Public Library, 500-plus guests gathered for the annual Library Lions Gala to honor this year’s Lions for their outstanding achievements in the arts: poet Elizabeth Alexander, composer Philip Glass, writer Jamaica Kincaid, historian Jill Lepore and filmmaker Frederick Wiseman.

Elizabeth Alexander

Along banquet tables featuring colorful floral arrangements sat living legends, such as writer Joyce Carol Oates and journalist Diane Sawyer. Also spotted were New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Senator Chuck Schumer and Library Lions’ co-chairs Princess Firyal of Jordan and Christine Schwarzman in a sapphire blue dress.

Lauren Santo Domingo

Over dinner, guests bopped to a swing performance by trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, who left the stage to play among the dancing crowd.

Dinner in the reading room

Later in the evening, the new Library Lions were bestowed their medals, and guests transitioned to Astor Hall to enjoy a grandiose dessert bar and get books signed by the honorees.