STEVEN SEBRING, PATTI SMITH; JEAN PAGLIUSO, WHITE #20.
COURTESY THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF NEW YORK

The Humane Society of New York held a benefit photography auction at Diane von Furstenberg's studio, calling in the city's art, fashion, and animal-loving circles. Martha Swope, legendary for her dance and theatre photography, was honored at the event, with her iconic shots of Mikhail Baryshnikov and Liza Minnelli displayed on one end of the room.  The rest of the space was filled with a mix of fine art prints by Herb Ritts, Bruce Weber, Annie Leibovitz—and, of course, animals.  "It was a little overwhelming, I'd love to come back alone and take a little more time to really take everything in. It was really well  done," said Lauren Santo Domingo. Naturally, the Vogue editor favored an emotive photograph by Greg Kadel of model Veronica Varekova.

Anja Rubik, who herself graced two portraits by Margin Tyska, explained how the Humane Society was dear to her heart. "Both of my parents are vets. And I support the ASPCA in Poland," the model said. She had her eye on Jean Pagliuso's White #20, a dimmed chicked printed on a special rice paper. Though there were timely portraits for sale (McQueen by Gilles Bensimon, Michael Jackson by Neal Preston) works featuring animals were the popular choice, as demonstrated by the silent auction results. The Humane Society's Sandra DeFeo said Rubik would have some competition for her choice piece, "A lot of people liked the chicken. Steven Sebring had a photo below it [of Patti Smith in a Dior gown] and he texted Patti Smith with a picture and said 'Look, the chicken's winning!'" Ultimately, Smith's image took in $5500 to the chicken's $2700, but we're anticipating round two.