Robert M. Edsel is recognized as one of the world’s foremost advocates for the preservation of our shared cultural heritage and recovery of artworks missing since World War II. The #1 New York Times bestselling author released his latest book this spring: Remember Us: American Sacrifice, Dutch Freedom, and a Forever Promise Forged in World War II.
Mr. Edsel has authored four other nonfiction books, including The Monuments Men, which served as the basis for George Clooney’s 2014 film. Mr. Edsel is founder and chairman of the Monuments Men and Women Foundation. The Forever Promise Project is the Foundation’s latest initiative. Closely tied to the launch of Remember Us, the Forever Promise Project is dedicated to connecting American families of fallen WWII service members memorialized at the Netherlands American Cemetery with their Dutch grave adopters. Mr. Edsel has been honored with the Texas Medal of the Arts, the President’s Call to Service Award, and the Foundation for the National Archives’ Records of Achievement Award. In 2022, the U.S. Army and the Smithsonian Institution named Mr. Edsel an honorary graduate of the first Army Monuments Officer Training Program—an initiative he advocated for nearly twenty years.
2025 Festival Session