NEW YORK—It was an event-filled couple of weeks in the New York and London art realms.

After months of the usual griping, debate and speculation, London’s Tate Gallery finally granted their 22nd Turner Prize to painter Tomma Abts at a ceremony filled with fellow short-listers, former winners (Wolfgang Tillmans) and celebrity artists (Yoko Ono, who presented the £40,000 award).

Also in London, Larry Gagosian’s gallery held a special reception to mark the opening of “Dexter Dalwood: Recent History.” In addition to Dalwood, the event brought out other established London painters, including Peter Davies and Michael Raedecker, not to mention Frieze Art Fair curator Polly Staple.

And here in the Big Apple, The Met’s Costume Institute held a fittingly exclusive preview for a fashion exhibition that pays tribute to the grande dame of New York society Nan Kempner, who died last year. It drew a crowd worthy of the uber-socialite, with Bianca Jagger, Joan Collins and Dominick Dunne on the guest list.

Meanwhile, two generations of Lauders (Ronald and Aerin) gathered across the street for the Neue Galerie’s annual winter gala.

And the Young Collectors’ Council at the Guggenheim in Manhattan hosted its annual Artists’ Ball that raises money for some of the museum’s most adventurous collecting efforts. The gala party fêted Swiss video artist Pipilotti Rist, but also attracted a notable crowd of non-art-world names: Roberta Armani, Mary J. Blige, Susanne Bartsch and Liam Neeson.