Unknowing guests attending the opening of Annie Leibovitz’s exhibition, commissioned by UBS, “Women: New Portraits,” might have thought twice before entering the unfamiliar venue, emblazoned with “Department of Correctional Services” in bold block letters above the main entrance. But the former prison, an impactful Art Deco building facing the West Side Highway at 20th Street (and built by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon—the same architectural firm that built the Empire State Building, no less), came to house Leibovitz’s traveling show in the most serendipitous of ways.
The exhibition, a sequel of sorts to Leibovitz’s 1999 tome Women (with an essay by Susan Sontag), was updated with imagery plucked from the photographer’s oeuvre of the past 17 years. The theme, of course, being remarkable and extraordinary women with a capital W. Alongside Leibovitz’s historic photos of Yoko Ono, Meryl Streep, and Cindy Sherman, a new wave of female pioneers was represented, including Serena and Venus Williams, Misty Copeland, Caitlyn Jenner, and more.
Not only did Gloria Steinem, longtime friend and collaborator of the photographer, provide the introduction text for the exhibition, she also provided the venue. It was her relentless lobbying and leadership that led to the building’s transformation from former women’s prison to future women’s center, to be developed, designed, and constructed by a female workforce.
Steinem conceded she wasn’t sure what state the building would be in by the time the show (now at its penultimate location) came to New York. But it seems the stars aligned. “The destruction preceding the construction of this building needed to coincide with this traveling exhibition, and it all worked out!” said Steinem.
Guests including Wendi Murdoch (with her charming daughter in tow), Tory Burch, Tali Lennox, and Marina Rust pooled together in the building’s gymnasium, where Leibovitz’s portraits decorated makeshift walls. Flanked by basketball hoops, large screens projected the photographer’s arresting imagery, some of which was pulled directly from our own archive, the collaborative result of many other women in the room last night, including Vogue’s Anna Wintour, Phyllis Posnick, Tonne Goodman, and Grace Coddington. “I’ve never figured out the mystery of how she does it,” said Steinem. “You know it’s a unique person, but you know it’s also Annie’s photo.”
Midway through the evening, Leibovitz took to a podium, beneath attendees seated in steel folding chairs, for her opening remarks. “The last few days, Gloria has been doing her best trying to give people hope, but now she’s getting mad,” said Leibovitz, alluding to the last week’s election. She ended on an uplifting note, though, following up with: “And she’s much, much better when she’s mad!”
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