Oscar Wilde once said, "Conversation should touch everything but should concentrate itself on nothing." Wilde would be proud of the splendidly diverse range of subjects covered last night in the ivy-draped garden room of the Waverly Inn, where KiptonART's Kipton Cronkite hosted an intimate dinner for ten in honor of photographer James Gooding (left with Cronkite) whose exhibit, "The Triangulation of Happiness" just opened at the Diesel Denim Gallery.

Seated between Gooding and Cronkite on the much-buzzed about banquettes of Graydon Carter's English pub-style clubhouse I discussed Jasper John's "Grays" exhibit at the Met with Gagosian's Kenneth Maxwell, Oscar fashion rivalries with KiptonART's Alan Pepe (advantage Cotillard), and the complexities involved in selecting the perfect bath tub with British collector William Heath, who is in the process of renovating his apartment.

Over Bananas Foster and molten chocolate soufflé cake the group which also included philanthropist Catherine Forbes (right with Pepe), Annabel Vartanian and Bettina Prentice compared boarding school pranks, rated board games (Battleship won out) and told bawdy jokes until it got just a little too late for a Monday night. On my way out, Kipton told me that "I'm really glad that James had the chance to meet everyone. Several of our friends are in the upper ilks of art and philanthropy and interested in handling some of his work. This was the perfect way to fortify that connection." Not to mention it made for very some spirited dinner conversation.