TriBeCa Ball 2009 Draws Clinton, Timberlake, Schreiber & More (PHOTOS)

A mix of politics, entertainment, and fashion elite came out Monday night in support of perhaps the one thing that unites all three worlds: the naked body.

Bill Clinton, Justin Timberlake, and Liev Schreiber — all without their better halves — headlined the TriBeCa Ball Monday night, held to sponsor the New York Academy of Art. The NYAA is an educational and cultural institution dedicated to the advancement of figure drawing, painting, and sculpture, and it was the first graduate school in the United States devoted exclusively to the study of the human figure.

Amid paintings and sculptures of nude bodies, fashion legends like Nicole Miller and Kate Spade joined with newly minted stars like Jason Wu to celebrate the Academy.

The event honored Schreiber and wife Naomi Watts (in Milan for Fashion Week), hotelier Andre Balazs, and "Top Chef" host Padma Lakshmi, among others.

WWD's "The Eye" reports that Clinton was the guest that had the crowd most abuzz.

"His presence caused more furor than any amount of Champagne ever could among the group of usually blasé New Yorkers," they wrote. "His Secret Service detail were the only ones who were not in a tizzy. Said one, 'That guy's a chick magnet.'"

Read the full WWD report here.

See photos below, courtesy Patrick McMullan:

• • • • • • • • • • • • • Former President Bill Clinton appeared Monday night at the TriBeCa Ball in New York. The event supported the New York Academy of Art, the first graduate school in the United States devoted exclusively to the study of the human figure.

Comments

[studioh!]

12:28 AM on 03/05/2009

Bill should get a nose job.

[lynnn]

06:19 PM on 03/04/2009

So those were basically pictures of Rush Limbaugh?

[I once had a Crysknife]

06:12 AM on 03/04/2009

Well now we know where Bill goes when he's not hanging out with George H. Bush. Thanks for the story.

[plaidsportcoat]

03:07 AM on 03/04/2009

photogs need to learn how to take photos of dark black people so we can SEE their beautiful features, already!

[yuhaniz]

11:14 PM on 03/03/2009

am i the only one who thinks bill should've stayed home for hillary's sake? and ours?

[groot]

11:08 PM on 03/03/2009

is that a portrait of octomom between them?

[OtayPanky]

08:41 PM on 03/03/2009

Can someone please tell me what's going on with Bubba's nose in this picture?

[ignorantwillyharper]

10:13 AM on 03/04/2009

It appears he's growing a spare.

[PoliticalRockChick]

06:02 PM on 03/04/2009

Pinocchio.

[larry278]

08:24 PM on 03/03/2009

If it's in a museum or its an artistic dance performance it's different from going to a strip club or porno book store. Maybe Slick Willy is learning to sublimate---at last.

[elcojonu]

08:03 PM on 03/03/2009

Bill was scouting for models; he's taken-up nude painting while Hill is out of town.
That's my boy !!!!

[BankerTee]

07:11 PM on 03/03/2009

Bill Clinton at a nude art show? Is that the beginning of a joke or what?

[elcojonu]

08:04 PM on 03/03/2009

No joke, he's letting his inner artistic feelings come out.

[Redeemer777]

06:03 PM on 03/03/2009

Dark, black chocolate
Alek wek

hmmmmmmmm....

[NoSillyName]

04:33 PM on 03/03/2009

What is that old quote about the Rich Being Different From Us?

[Juno912]

04:17 PM on 03/03/2009

What a puerile review. Is the writer in 7th grade? Maybe next time you could get someone who actually understands figurative art as something more than just "the naked body" or "nude art."

[mabinog]

04:01 PM on 03/03/2009

Is that Lim.baugh in the middle?

[Ihaveadream]

04:55 PM on 03/03/2009

Perfect!

[lynnn]

06:20 PM on 03/04/2009

Oh jeez I thought the same thing!