On Feb. 6, Annabelle Dexter-Jones sat down to pose for a portrait by the legendary Francesco Clemente—a birthday gift from her partner and the painter’s close friend, Daniel Humm. She didn’t know she’d walk out engaged.
The year-long whirlwind that has consumed the Michelin-starred Swiss chef and British-American actor began at a wedding—their mutual friend Vito Schnabel’s—in the spring of 2024. They’ve been joined at the hip ever since. “I wasn’t sure if I ever wanted to get married again,” Humm says, “but when I met Annabelle, I knew immediately that I did.”
Many people treat wedding proposals as an art. Few actually involve art in them. But the pair’s lives are built on a deep reverence for beauty and those who cultivate it. Dexter-Jones mines her upbringing at the epicenter of New York’s creative scene for rich, understated performances onscreen, while Humm’s culinary career has been bolstered by formative encounters with painting. Eleven Madison Park, the treasured New York eatery he’s transformed over two decades, is punctuated with works by artist friends including Rita Ackermann and Rashid Johnson. Last year, he opened a cocktail bar in collaboration with Clemente just upstairs from EMP. (Dexter-Jones, meanwhile, has known the Italian painter since she was a teenager.)
It’s no surprise, then, that when Humm asked Clemente to help him propose, the artist was overcome. “He got so emotional,” the chef recalls. “He said, ‘This is like the greatest thing anyone has ever asked me to do.’”
Humm gifted Dexter-Jones a sitting. His plan? Unveil the completed portrait—incidentally, Clemente’s first nude—to his unsuspecting partner on the spot, revealing the engagement ring painted on her hand and an identical one tucked in his pocket. (Less than a month into their courtship, the chef asked his good friend, visionary jeweler Joel Arthur Rosenthal of JAR, to design it.)
For CULTURED, the couple recall the moment—which will culminate in a low-key wedding “somewhere in New York” later this month—that they can’t stop smiling about.
Daniel Humm: This started months ago for me. I’ve been friends with Joel for many years; he’s like a painter with precious stones. A few weeks after I met Annabelle, I told Joel, “Now I know why we’re friends. You have to make the ring!” The next month, we had lunch with Joel in Paris, and one of the women at the atelier measured Annabelle’s fingers. She was like, “We should have your sizes for our records.” Months later, I was with Francesco having dinner, and I said, “You can say no, but would you help me propose?” Immediately, he said yes.
It took him a long time to schedule the portrait sitting—I kept reminding them, because I knew it would be the day that I’d propose. I wanted to make sure I had the chance to speak to Annabelle’s parents before it happened—Annabelle’s dad [Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones] has Parkinson’s, so I needed to find the right moment. That was really important to me. All of a sudden, they scheduled [the sitting]. I dropped Annabelle off at the studio and went to her parents’ house, hoping that it would be a good day. Annabelle’s dad was in great shape, happy. I stayed there for six hours; we had a beautiful conversation, and when I told him, he was very emotional.
Annabelle’s love for others is one of the things that made me fall in love with her, so to see that love flow the other way was so beautiful. Later, I checked my phone and saw 10 text messages from Francesco: “Where are you? Where are you? Where are you?” While I walked to his studio, I realized I had no dinner reservation, no flowers. Then I got there, and the two of them were sitting in a circle.
Annabelle Dexter-Jones: The whole thing was a shock. I knew that we wanted to get married, but I did not expect this. My birthday present was a hand-drawn certificate for a portrait from Francesco. Daniel was insistent on it happening in December, but my hair color wasn’t right, so we decided to do it on Feb. 1. The actual process was just sitting still, which I really like to do. He doesn’t talk while he’s working, so the energy is a bit spiritual.
I was feeling pretty blissed-out, but Francesco was nervous. He kept looking from his phone to my hand, which was on my bare chest. I thought perhaps there was some sort of lump that I wasn’t aware of. Once we finished, Francesco said, “Let’s smoke a cigarette in these chairs and wait for Daniel to arrive.” The buzzer goes off, and he says, “Daniel’s here.” I’m like, “Indeed.” Daniel seemed a little tense, too.
I didn’t have expectations of the painting—for me, it was really about this gift from Daniel, this time with Francesco. So when the assistants brought it over, I already felt joy. Sometimes I see myself onscreen, and it’s very uncomfortable. But Francesco got my eyes, which are two different sizes, exactly right. I really saw myself in it. I was wearing a ring that day that my mom designed—gold, with an opal inside. The painting looked like an artistic interpretation of it.
Humm: The three of us were sitting there in front of the painting. In my head, I was like, Okay, Francesco, go now. He went off to wash his hands, and I was shaking. I said, “What do you think of the ring?” She looks at her hand and goes, “It’s close enough.” I said, “It’s yours.” She responded, “I know.”
Dexter-Jones: I did not get it until I realized Daniel had something behind his back. I figured it wasn’t a knife, so it was probably the other thing. I just screamed and embraced him and cried, and it drowned out everything he said. The next thing I remember, I was like, “Wait, did you ask me? I couldn’t hear you!”
Humm: When we left, it was cold outside, very windy. I realized it was perfect that I had no plan. We walked through [Silver Towers], where that Picasso sculpture is, visited Annabelle’s parents, and went to our favorite restaurant, Omen Azen. They had a corner table for us, even though we had no reservation. We were in pure bliss.
Dexter-Jones: I still am.
Order your copy of the Art + Food issue, with Annabelle Dexter-Jones and Daniel Humm on the cover, here.
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