A Glamorous Evening With Alexandre de Vogüé of Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte

A salon chat for a chateau. That is what Ann and Lee Hobson had in store for their guests recently for an evening in their Highland Park home. The self-professed Francophiles (they’ve gone as far as to buy a getaway in Provence) were hosting Alexandre de Vogüé and his wife Jot to share details on Alexandre’s storied family estate, Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte.

This Baroque French château is located in Maincy, near Melun, a short distance from Paris. Alexandre and his two brothers Jean-Charles and Ascanio own and run what many call one of the greatest historical monuments in France. Since its creation in the 17th century, only four families have presided over this glorious estate before opening to the public in 1968.

I’ll set the scene — it was an intimate evening with a glorious flame in the fireplace and the spirits of Bonnard and Picasso peering down from the canvases on the walls. The gold star for the salon chat’s subsequent Q&A goes to Derek Wilson who posed an interesting question about how Alexandre and Jot handled visitors traipsing about while they were home.

“We don’t actually live there,” Alexandre responded. “We simply oversee the buildings and gardens so that our guests enjoy their visit.”

Ann and Lee are highly regarded for their parties. I have too many stories to tell of past events, perhaps my favorite being the impromptu one they held post the Dallas Museum of Art’s grand gala dinner to fete the opening of the “Dior: From Paris to the World” exhibition in 2019. That began sometime around 11 pm with a “who’s who” from the Dior team along with the international jet set including Vogue’s European editor-at-large, Hamish Bowles, who after finding out details of the Hobson’s home in Provence remarked, “I know your neighbors.”

After everyone had enjoyed the buffet dinner (which included one of my favorites: baby spinach and prosciutto pizza with alfredo cream sauce, dried figs, and baby arugula) provided by Cassandra Tomassetti’s Art 2 Catering, I found myself with Peggy Sewell entranced by the images of the Chateau which were flashing by on the television screen in the family room.

Someone playfully posed to me, “Why don’t you serve up some dish once in a while in your party coverage?” Then I said, “Moi, perish the thought or I might get run out of town.” And my gorgeous blond friend said, “Just keep it vague in terms of names.” Well, here you go — in the Hobson’s library post-dinner and over more coupes of bubbles someone queried “name the worst party you had to throw?” A fellow guest then recounted a terribly challenging night with throngs of guests traipsing through their well-appointed Preston Hollow home. But the worst part in their opinion was that the caterer threw out chafing dishes with “industrial thongs” (said with playful disdain) for guests to scoop out hot wings.

The roaring twenties seem to be in full swing now that Ann and Lee Hobson have opened their doors for more soirees. Those in attendance that night that would definitely agree included: the Hobson’s interior designer Cathy Kincaid; Michelle and Peery Wood; Suzanne and Patrick McGee, collectors Christen and Derek Wilson; Peggy and Carl Sewell; Cornelia Guest; semi-recent Left Coast transplants Libby and Damian Ornani (from San Francisco) and artist and bon vivant Donald Robertson and his interior designer wife Kim (from Los Angeles); Dallas Museum of Art museum director Agustín Arteaga and his husband Carlos Gonzalez-Jaime; Kimbell Museum of Art’s director Eric Lee and his artist wife Rima; and IT-girl Jennifer Karol who had just returned from a whirlwind trip to New York Fashion Week.

You can also see the Chateau by visiting their website here.