Arts and Entertainment

The Tyler Museum of Art "rolls out the red carpet" tonight for the annual Little Black Dress fundraiser.

The party will start at 6:30 p.m. at the museum, tickets to the fundraiser are $100 per person for TMA members and $125 for non-members, and are available by calling 903-595-1001.

The evening will highlight a live auction of original artwork donated by area artists and creative Museum supporters based on the "Red Carpet" theme.

Guests will also enjoy fine food, drinks and music.

But, museum officials say a special guest will "captivate the crowd."

Robert M. Edsel, filmmaker and bestselling author of "Rescuing Da Vinci," will be on hand to offer a few remarks at the top of the evening, "then plans to join the party," Ms. Wylie said. "He'll be here the following day for our Fall Lecture Series, and we're thrilled that he wants to stop by and see for himself how much fun we have."

Co-chairs for this year's event are Sheila Leatherwood and Ellen Peirce. Committee members are Denise Czop, Sharon Eiche, Jan Hogan, Joan LeSauvage, George Ann Reed and Annalisa Stenklyft.

Artists contributing to the auction include Deborah Stephen, Breedlove Nursery and Landscape, Casey Brownlow, Su Holder, Yvette Leighgeber, Stephen LeSauvage, Scott Lieberman, Lisa Lowry, Becky Martin, Bill Muscato, Abby Raeder Rosenthal, Cynthia Riter, Rachel Salcido, Don Smith, Jane Smith, Chris Stewart, Sasha Vukelja, Matthew Watson and Judith Guthrie, William Young, Gregory Zeorlin, and the late Ancel E. Nunn (donated by Reneta Nunn).

Following the live auction, guests are invited to stay and experience the sounds of Geezer, a veteran acoustic classic rock band from the Tyler area that has performed at numerous clubs, special events and festivals throughout East Texas.

On Sunday, the museum will open its Fall Lecture Series with a program by Edsel.

The program, titled "Is Art Worth a Life? War, Hitler and the Monuments Men," is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Tyler Junior College's Wise Auditorium. The audience is invited to remain for a brief Q&A following the lecture, and Edsel also will be on hand for a book signing immediately afterward at the TMA, located directly across the street from the auditorium at 1300 S. Mahon Ave.

Tickets are $8 for TMA members, and $10 for non-members; reservations are requested by calling 903-595-1001.

"Is Art Worth a Life?" will expound upon the subject of Rescuing Da Vinci, detailing the author's mission to preserve the legacy of the dedicated group which saved, recovered and returned countless artistic treasures in Europe following a period of Nazi plundering before and during the second World War.

A Dallas native who frequently earns the "Renaissance Man" label for his diverse array of professional and avocational interests, Edsel became immersed in the world of Italian art and became a serious collector of old masters after moving to Florence to restore an 1880 villa. A nationally ranked collegiate tennis player at Southern Methodist University who later turned pro, Edsel's forays into entrepreneurship included development of Dallas' Turtle Creek Boulevard and eventually the oil-and-gas industry, in which he is credited as a pioneer of horizontal drilling techniques.

It was the latter that allowed him to sell his energy business in 1996 and move abroad (he has since returned to Dallas), which stoked his fascination with the theft, and subsequent efforts to recover, millions of works of art during World War II.

Edsel penned and self-published "Rescuing Da Vinci" after spending more than a decade and $3 million researching the little-known story of the Monuments Men, a multi-national group of close to 350 soldiers and art historians (primarily American and British) who risked their lives to preserve Western Europe's cultural heritage among widespread bombing and Nazi looting.

For more information, call (903) 595-1001 or visit www.tylermuseum.org.