Gilbert M. Denman, Jr.

Attorney and arts patron Gilbert M. Denman Jr. passed away Sunday, leaving behind a lasting impact on San Antonio and the rest of the world through his broad range of interests, which included support for the arts and education, as well as his legal practice. He was 83.

Denman was one of the most influential philanthropists in San Antonio, but preferred to do good works without drawing attention to himself. His impact on the community included instrumental roles with the San Antonio Museum of Art, the San Antonio Botanical Gardens, the San Antonio Festival, and the San Antonio Symphony; helping to save the missions; enriching the status of Trinity University; and a lifetime commitment to the practice of law. He maintained a lifelong interest in agriculture through ownership of the family "El Capote" farm, purchased in 1897, near Seguin. The property continues to be a leader in conservation initiatives.

Gilbert Denman graduated from The University of Texas and The University of Texas Law School, where he was a member and president of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He was a third-generation member of the law firm Denman, Franklin & Denman, founded by his grandfather, Judge Leroy G. Denman, a Texas Supreme Court justice.

Gilbert Denman's legal practice included client and family friend Ewing Halsell, in whose name was founded the Ewing Halsell Foundation. Denman served as chairman of the foundation, which long has been a strong supporter of a wide range of local initiatives, among them the now-vital San Antonio Medical Center.

Denman's mark on the community included his service on the boards of the San Antonio Loan & Trust Company and the First National Bank.

Denman sustained an ongoing involvement with the San Antonio Arts Foundation, George W. Brackenridge Foundation and the Blaffer Foundation of Houston, among other philanthropic endeavors.

His support for Trinity University included many years as a trustee and his role as board chairman from 1970-73. He endowed teaching chairs, sponsored speaking programs and backed the Trinity University Press.

His travels around the world and interest in all cultures had a profound influence on Denman, who donated his extensive collection of Greek and Roman artifacts to the San Antonio Museum of Art. The collection, among the finest of its type in the nation, is housed in the Denman Gallery of the Ewing Halsell Wing at the museum. Denman was instrumental in the hiring of Carlos Picon, former curator of ancient art at SAMA, who later became curator in charge of the department of Greek and Roman art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

A later donation by Denman made it possible for SAMA to establish its Oceanic collection. Denman began the collection while serving in the Pacific with the U.S. Navy during World War II , where he served as a personal aide to Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.

In the 1980s, he devoted himself to creating the San Antonio Festival, a vision influenced by his long-term patronage of the Salzburg Festival in Austria.

The gardens of Europe inspired his desire to establish an architecturally significant structure at the Botanical Gardens through the Lucile Halsell Conservatory, which won national acclaim when it opened in 1989. He previously had founded the San Antonio Botanical Center Society, which established the gardens with land donated by family friend Col. George W. Brackenridge.

Among his many accomplishments, he participated in negotiating an agreement that made it possible for the Catholic Church to retain ownership of the interiors of San Antonio's historic missions, while allowing the U.S. Parks Department to have possession of the exteriors.

He was a member of the McNay Benefactors/Friends/Patrons; the Order of the Alamo; the San Antonio German Club; and the Conopus Club.

Denman is survived by his two cousins, Mrs. William J. Block, Jr., and Mr. Leroy G. Denman, Jr.