Actor Kevin Spacey meets guests Saturday at the Pell Awards gala, held at Pelican Ledge in Newport, the seaside home of the late Sen. Claiborne Pell.

The Providence Journal / Ruben W. Perez

Arts lovers and the Newport elite gathered at the home of the late Sen. Claiborne Pell Saturday night to honor Pell for his leadership in the arts and to bestow a national Pell Award on actor Kevin Spacey.

About 480 guests gathered under a white tent on the lawn of Pelican Ledge to sip cocktails and listen to Spacey, a two-time Academy Award winner, talk about the economic impact of the arts.

But before that, Sen. Jack Reed spoke about Pell’s impressive legacy in the arts and his historic legislation that created the national endowments for the humanities and the arts. Reed told how, as a youngster, he went to see Shakespeare at Trinity Repertory Company thanks to the Project Discovery program that Pell helped fund.

“He was a remarkable man,” Reed said of the statesman, who died on New Year’s Day at the age of 90, someone who more than anyone in the history of America “made the arts accessible to all.”

This is the 13th year for the awards, which honor people who have devoted themselves to the theater and the arts. In the past the awards have singled out such luminaries as Jason Robards, Arthur Miller and opera singer Beverly Sills.

The event is also a fundraiser for Trinity Rep programs. Richard Jaffe, the head of external relations for the theater, said the event had raised more than $300,000 for the theater.

Spacey spent about an hour in a VIP tent shaking hands and taking pictures with guests. He said later that that is something he is used to after running London’s Old Vic Theatre for the past six years.

But before sitting down to dinner, while smoking a cigarette outside the tent, Spacey talked about how important theater is to bring people together, and about the educational programs he runs in London, where he lives.

Standing beside him was Nuala Pell, the senator’s wife, who said her husband would have “been thrilled” to hold the awards named for him at his seaside home. She said that Trinity was hoping to attract commuters from the Newport community through the event. But there were also people from outside the city, including Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline, who acknowledged that he was a bit far from home.

“I packed an overnight bag,” he quipped. But on a more serious note, he said he was on hand to support Trinity and to honor Pell, someone who has “done more to promote the arts and humanities than anyone in my lifetime.”

Trinity artistic director Curt Columbus called the night a “home run.” He called Pell a truly “historical figure.”

It was clear that the crowd was attracted to Spacey, who introduced himself to people as “Kevin.” People sought autographs as he relaxed on the lawn, others wanted him to know how much they appreciated his work.

Spacey has just wrapped a film about lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Casino Jack, and he said he is shooting another film in New Orleans before returning to London to star in Inherit the Wind, the play about the so-called Scopes monkey trial.

cgray@projo.com