The room was decidedly bipartisan at the Guggenheim's Thursday-night Young Collectors Council Artist's Ball, hosted by Chloé. "Over here you have the older, i-banker crowd," explained event chair Claire Bernard, pointing to a group of Wall Street types and their well-coiffed female companions. "And then," interjected Jacquetta Wheeler, gesturing to a pod of artfully disheveled individuals across the room, "over there, you have your hipsters—which is a word I hate." It's a word that photographer Ryan McGinley, the night's honoree, probably hates too, but in his case, the label is pretty much unavoidable. Having shot to fame chronicling the escapades of his skater pals and fellow L.E.S. scenesters, the lensman has emerged as a demigod of the downtown art scene. Looking dapper in a Theory tuxedo he bought special for the evening, McGinley did his best to graciously navigate through the throng of well-wishers, who included everyone from Barbara Bush and Gossip Girl's Blake Lively to Padma Lakshmi and Piper Perabo. But the shy photog admitted that cocktail party chitchat wasn't his strong suit. "It's all rather overwhelming," he said. "I feel like it's my wedding night."

In addition to a silent auction, the evening featured a performance by indie band Blonde Redhead, which, according to the Kills singer Alison Mosshart, "was reason enough to trek up here in the first place." And throughout the night, a selection of McGinley's works—mostly sensual nudes—were projected onto the museum's curving walls. "I know this sounds odd from a mother of three," said Natalia Vodianova, admiring one of the images. "But I love the shape of those breasts. It's beautiful, no?" Neither the "young collectors" nor the "artists" would be apt to disagree.

— Derek Blasberg