On July 10th SFLuxe attended a private preview at the Clift’s Spanish Suite of rare Rolling Stones photographs that had been shot between 1966 and 1971. The images now have their world debut at the San Francisco Art Exchange in the exhibit “Beggars to Exiles: The Photography of Michael Cooper & Dominique Tarlé.“

Keith Richards and Anita Pallenberg, by Dominique Tarle
Photographer Dominique Tarlé was in attendance as well as actor Jake Weber, star of NBC’s Medium who is photographed in these images at age 7 with the Rolling Stones (Jake, …

As we all bundle up for Summer in San Francisco, it’s nice to know that at least some of the locals are enjoying the sun… and they didn’t have to travel too far!

Elyssa Thorp of Delysium (they do a lot of A-list event marketing) sent along these photos from a private party at Verotto Vineyard in Sonoma last Saturday. Doesn’t it look like fun? It’s the new Sonoma — young, sexy, fun, and eager to experience the best that life has to offer!

The event was a Verotto Wines pre-harvest …

Having lunch at The Four Seasons in San Francisco at around 2:30 on Wednesday (July 16) , I spotted superstar Sting across the room. Of course I’m not some tacky fan who would ask for a photo from the poor guy while he was in a restaurant. I waited until he got to the elevator! He was an absolute sweetheart and posed for this photo with no attitude whatsoever, despite the fact he was probably rather tired and just wanted to go up to his room. He also …

Valentin Popov signing copies of his book.
Last week I quickly dropped by the Modernism Gallery in San Francisco to see the exhibit of Valentin Popov’s work, which is absolutely wonderful.

The most exciting moment was to see the stunning portrait he did of Kimberly Bakker.
She graciously took a moment to pose for me in front of the painting, which shows her as a sort of luscious siren preparing for an evening out. I really admire the way he depicted her staring into the mirror with cold, steely gaze, in juxtaposition …

SFLuxe would like to know if any San Francisco collectors bought at last week’s important Contemporary Art sale at Sotheby’s London, which raised $188.8 million, with over $27 million going for a Bacon, and over $10 million for a Basquiat that had been owned by U2. Email sfluxe@gmail.com if you know!
Here are some highlights from the sale:

Study for Head of George Dyer, 1967 by Francis Bacon sold for an extraordinary £13,761,250 ($27,442,685), against a pre-sale estimate in excess of £8 million. The work is an exceptionally rare, intimate …

As you undoubtedly know by now, I’m nothing if not an admirer of empty virtuosity. The sensory disco of blazing colors and blinking lights, of leaping, vibrating, ever-changing hues and forms, of pure sensory attractions experienced apart from external ideals, are to me the pure expression of delight in art and life itself.

I love Vegas. I love Bollywood cinema. I love molten lava as it crashes down a mountain side. I love exotic fishes and rare birds and those telescopic photos that show the universe as it existed billions …

Dialogue, by Lucia Hye Yoon Joo
The 2008 Academy of Art University Annual Spring Show presents exceptional achievement from student artists who have joined their superb talent with first-class instruction from the school’s distinguished faculty. As the west coast’s most trusted locale for discovering exceptional rising artistic talent, the Academy of Art University’s Annual Spring Show’s opening night awards ceremony on May 22, 2008 holds prime importance for fine art students and industry insiders alike. The results of the juried award selection for the School of Fine Art’s departments of Painting, …

Amber Marie Bently is a woman of many talents, as I discovered with a group of friends at Ocean Beach in San Francisco recently. Sure, we all know her as a great jewelry designer, as a smart business woman, and with husband Christopher, one of the leading philanthropists in San Francisco. But who knew she could hula-hoop… in fire!
I wouldn’t have believed it had I not seen it with my own eyes.

The occasion was a private celebration in honor of Amber Marie’s Goddaughter. With Chris Bently on …

June 18, 2008. 3:00 pm.
David Beckham and Victoria Beckham ate with their children Romeo, Brooklyn and Cruz at One Market today at 3:00 pm (located at One Market Street, in case you didn’t know.) Anyone have photos? Come on, you know at least one of those financial district folks had a camera phone with them. But who dared snap the pic?? (Send it to sfluxe@gmail.com Only you, your embarrassed table mates and your god will know it was you. Promise.)

And in related news… David Beckham’s new advertisement …

SFLuxe gets easily lost when venturing south of San Francisco. Our two main reference points are Susan of Burlingame and Neiman Marcus of Stanford. Anything else, and it’s just not on our radar.
We were pleased to see that some of our favorite people have the Palo Alto Neiman Marcus on their radar as well. Recently some Silicon Valley stylemakers (such as Orkut Buyukkokten, Jini Kim, Derek Holbrook, shown above) stopped by the store for a preview of the Oscar de la Renta Fall 2008 collection.
The event was held by …