Mr. Edsel is the author of Rescuing Da Vinci, a photographic essay book providing the first comprehensive visual documentation of Hitler and the Nazis’ theft of Europe’s great art and its rescue by America and her Allies.  He is also co-producer of a documentary film entitled The Rape of Europa, based on the acclaimed book written by noted scholar Lynn Nicholas. 

Mr. Edsel began his business career as an independent oil and gas producer in 1981.  His privately held exploration firm, Gemini Exploration Company, was acquired by Union Pacific Resources Company in 1995.  For the next five years he and his family lived in Europe, three years of which were spent renovating a villa and its gardens in Florence.  During that time Mr. Edsel pursued his interests in the arts and visited most of the significant museums in Western Europe and Russia which gave rise to his interest in the Rescuing Da Vinci project. 

Mr. Edsel is a supporter of Children’s Medical Center, the Dallas Morning News Charities, and the United Way, among others.  He concluded nine years of service as a Trustee of St. Mark’s School of Texas in 1997 including four years as President of the St. Mark’s Alumni Board. He has also served on the Board of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (Dallas Chapter), the Advisory Board of St. Philip’s School and Community Center and as a volunteer at the Union Gospel Mission.

In 2003 Mr. Edsel served as Chairman of a committee to develop a master plan for the Turtle Creek corridor in Dallas.  In February 2004, the Committee gifted the master plan to the City of Dallas.  It now serves as the City’s master plan for the Turtle Creek greenbelt.  Mr. Edsel also serves on the Advisory Board of the Meadows Museum of Art, Dallas.  He has recently become a Board Member of the American Friends of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.