Photo Flash: Photographer Annie Watt's IMPROMPTU PORTRAITS at Park Avenue's Galerie Dumonteil Draws Glittering Crowd

Geoffrey Bradfield, Barbara and Donald Tober, Gillian and Sylvester Miniter, Eleanora and Michael Kennedy and Ambassador John Loeb and Sharon Handler Loeb co-hosted a special VIP Preview of acclaimed celebrity and society photographer Annie Watt's Impromptu Portraits at the prestigious Galerie Dumonteil on Park Avenueand 57th Street on Tuesday to benefit the American Heart Association. The incisive images of celebrities, political figures, designers and society's elite filled the walls of the elegant gallery. The images were presented in a variety of sizes and formats, classic 8 x 10, Oversize and snappy Polaroids and many were scooped up by the attendees.

Some 400 of New York's social dynamos and power brokers braved the Nor'easter and made their way to the gallery including Hilary Geary Ross and husband Wilbur Ross, Muffy Potter Aston, Lawrence Kaiser, Ann Van Ness, Ann Rapp, Stewart Lane and Bonnie Comley, Lucia Hwong Gordon, Gary & Katherine Andreassen, CeCe and Lee Black, Chris and Grace Meigher, Cece Cord, Chappy Morris, Jean Shafiroff, Joan and George Hornig, Lady Liliana Cavendish, Roy Kean, Diana Pinck, Barbara Poliwoda, Dr. Penny Grant, James Luce, Jeremy Hu, designer Victor De Souza, Jean Shafiroff, Rita Cosby & Tomaczek Bednarek, Suzanne La Fleur, David Grossman, Tom Lampson, Patricia Shiah, Eric Goodman and Alexandra Fairweather, Javier Tourne and Christina Madden, Paola and Arni Rosenschein, Mai Hallingby, Jeannette Hektoen and Prince of Chintz, Mario Buatta.

Among the famous faces featured in this show who have posed happily for Watt at the most exclusive galas, premieres and elegant parties are Bill Clinton, Neil Patrick Harris, Oscar de la Renta, Barbara Walters, Prince Andrew, Spike Lee, Whoopi Goldberg, Iris Apfel, Diane von Furstenberg, Donald Trump, Donna Karan, Dr. Oz, Henry Kissinger, Hugh Jackman, James Earl Jones, Christie Brinkley, Candice Bergen , Bruce Weber, Hoda Kotb, Kathie Lee Gifford, Catherine Zeta Jones, Hilary Clinton, Donatella Versace, Janet Jackson, Glenn Close, Meryl Streep, Gloria Steinem, Jeff Hirsch & David Patrick Columbia, Itzhak Perlman, Jane Fonda, Joan Rivers, Kareem Abdul Jabar, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Paris Hilton, Robert De Niro, Sirio Maccioni, Sarah, Duchess of York, Sir Elton John, Walt Frazier, Wynton Marsalis, Zubin Mehta and ZZ Top.

To thank her supportive co-hosts, Annie presented each with a portrait of them in a silver Scully & Scully frame.

Impromptu Portraits will exhibit in New York at Galerie Dumonteil through January 15, 2015 before the show travels to Paris and Shanghai. Galerie Dumonteil is located at 475 Park Avenue, New York City, 10022. Gallery hours are from Monday to Friday 10:00am to 6:00pm, and Saturdays from 11:00am to 5:00pm. For more information, please contact 212 840 0475 or newyork@dumonteil.com

Over the last decade, Annie Watt has become the go-to lenser for savvy event producers and chairladies around the country. Her unique ability to put her subjects at ease, and give them a crash course in posing even to the most frequent red carpet figures helps her glamorous subjects put their best face forward. Her gentle reminders and subtle advice to her subjects have earned her the moniker of The Posing Expert.

One of her biggest assets as a photographer is that her clients trust her to present them in the most flattering light. Her photography style has an emphasis on capturing candid photos in addition to the standard posed shots showing people smiling into the camera.

Annie does this with an ease and grace that has won her legions of admirers, not only among the high profile subjects she photographs, but also the top society hostesses, event planners and the media with whom she enjoys extraordinary relationships.

Annie Watt's philosophy is "doing well by doing good", covering hundreds of charitable functions each year and donating a portion of the proceeds of print sales to the fund-raising organization. As a result, Annie's bright smile and unflagging professionalism continue to make her one of the most welcome photographers at any A-list event.

The traveling exhibition is timed to coincide with the launch of a new specialty photo agency, www.anniewattagency.com. The combination agency and website isdesigned to make it even easier for her clients, subjects and the media to access her ever-growing body of work.

Anniewattagency.com will feature Annie's work; along with her other talented associate photographers. This group of creative professionals will reach out to capture outstanding images across America and beyond. Current and past clients include: American Heart Association, French Heritage Society, Lenox Hill Hospital, American Cancer Society, Casita Maria, The Couture Council, Fountain House, Fund for Park Avenue, Hearst Publishing Company, Holiday House, New York Society for The Prevention of Cruelty to Children, The Lighthouse, NYC Opera Gala, Palm Beach Opera Gala, NYU Medical Center, Perlman Music Program, The Red Cross, Sundance, Susan G. Komen and Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to name a few among many.

Photos by David DuPuy/ The Annie Watt Agency