IRENE K. TOWBIN

I met Irene many years ago at my restaurant at the time, Babette's, in East Hampton. We became good friends and she was such a ray of Light, joy, laughter, and love. One September I took my mom, two aunts, and son to Ireland and we met up with Irene and a friend of hers for dinner one night in Galway. It was the highlight of the entire trip. We ate and laughed and celebrated being together as if we had known one another a hundred lifetimes. It was an evening I will never forget. I adored her...

I have so many questions about Irene and always thought that if I had ever made it to Galway, I might have looked her up. Aloha, Brendan

Next July , 2021, Irene will be gone ten years. Not a day has passed when I haven’t wanted to talk to her. I am grateful for the memories that her friends have written here. Thank you. She was and will always be, amazing. I miss her.
Minna

I think of Irene almost daily, the music she discovered and loved, the incredible
abundance of art she had made and collected, the file drawers of photos she had taken, and the support and encouragement she bestowed upon other artists like only Irene could.

She took such joy in the work and endeavors of her friends and was so generous with her friendship. She made us all feel like our contribution to the world was singularly extraordinary. She lifted everyone up. God only...

I can't even begin to know why I thought of Irene tonite and was compelled to track her down on the internet. I just came home from having dinner with a friend here in East Hampton and my thoughts went to Irene for no reason at all. And that is how I learned of her passing. My family and I visited Ireland about 3 or 4 years ago, making one of the stops in Galway to see Irene. Irene and I had become friends mostly through politics, did not see one another often, but always seemed to stay...

I loved Irene. I still do. How amazing, that despite all of the artists and filmmakers she helped, we never thought to turn the camera on her, well bits and pieces after 911, but nothing really in depth. She always welcomed me, often with a cameraman in tow, into her home when my work led me to NYC. There were a million things she wanted me to see and to do. Once she took my friend Kenny and me to a restaurant where from the bathroom you could see people only a few feet away from you...

I have loved reading all these messages about Irene. I have a beautiful Navajo rug that she gave Gordon and me when she came to stay once in Italy. I don't need a rug to remember her, but it does remind me of her whenever I see it. It would be lovely to have a retrospective of her art.