The Monkey Bar - NYC

I was lucky enough to attend a cocktail party at the Monkey Bar, which is Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Graydon Carter's latest restaurant venture. The atmosphere in the bar and dining room is overall very soothing and exquisite. Some say the mood reminds them of being on a luxurious ocean liner. Perhaps this effect was enhanced by the fact that the bar staff wore very ship-worthy uniforms as they poured our libations. In addition to the dark wood and warm lighting, there are delightful monkey-themed murals and fixtures all around the bar room, which I was able to snap a few photos of to share with you! On display in the dining room is a large mural featuring various stars from old Hollywood and modern literature (Fred Astaire, Dorothy Parker, Zelda & F. Scott Fitzgerald, etc.) painted by Ed Sorel. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find the name of the artist who painted the monkey murals, but I am very curious to know. Until a later post, here are the pictures:

Smoking monkey

A cigarette smoking monkey at Forbidden Planet.
[identified as Frank Cho's Monkey by Isaac Bidwell]

I make a point of stopping in Forbidden Planet every time I'm near Union Square in NYC. I don't know who the character is, but this vinyl monkey with a cigarette in his mouth was in one of the display cases.

Monkey artist

It's been a while since I've updated here. A fun project like this should not go neglected for so long.
Thanks go to Rik for finding this image in his Facebook friend's photo album

Bar monkey

I was at The Slipper Room in NYC to see a friend’s performance with his physical comedy group Happy Hour when I spied this monkey high above the bar. Not until I saw the image did I notice the Mexican wedding figurines.
Looks like they need to dust. No wonder my martini was dirty!

Porcelain monkey

Leaving the restaurant (Cafe Martenique in the Bahamas) after having our 2nd wedding anniversary dinner we spotted this porcelain monkey.

Lonely George

I found Curious George at the Licensing Show in NYC, and he was sitting all by himself. Still had a smile as lonely as he looked.