The Untermyer Gardens Conservancy’s annual Sunset Soirée will take place Tuesday, June 17, in the Walled Garden from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Lavish hors-d’oeuvres and cocktails will be served by David Ziff Cooking.

​Our honoree is Amy Gutmann, President Emerita, University of Pennsylvania (2004-22), United States Ambassador to Germany (2022-2024), and Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science.

Our theme is Family Trees, which celebrates the garden’s role as a cherished gathering place for
generations of families and is epitomized by the Walled Garden’s majestic weeping beeches that were planted by Samuel Untermyer more than a century ago.

It also recognizes the common ties between our honoree and the garden’s founder, including their
shared German-Jewish ancestry. Amy’s father, Kurt Gutmann, fled Nazi Germany at age 19 for India in 1934, a year after Samuel Untermyer founded the Non-Sectarian Anti-Nazi League. He would later move to New York and raise his family in the Hudson Valley. The Walled Garden, inspired by the Mughal gardens of India, is the most iconic feature of Untermyer Gardens and a peaceful haven that transcends cultural boundaries.

Donors of $1,200 or more will be listed on the invitation and the program. The deadline to be
listed on the invitation is April 10.

To pay by check, download a reply form.

The Sunset Soirée is the Conservancy’s most important fundraiser of the year, and its success is crucial to our ability to maintain the splendor of the garden, deliver adult and youth education programs, and serve the local Yonkers community. This year we will provide paid internships to 18 public high school students who will tend the vegetable garden and work alongside the gardeners to make improvements throughout the property. Since our founding thirteen years ago, the Conservancy has restored the garden’s prestige as one of the finest gardens in America, and now it is one of the top visitor destinations in Westchester. ​The garden welcomes 300,000 visitors annually free of charge, making it a rarity among public gardens.