An artful approach to funding nonprofit
Lawyer offers peek at storied collection as host of Denali Foundation event that raises $30K
Sequoia Schmidt hosts an annual gala benefiting the Denali Foundation, a nonprofit founded in memory of her brother, Denali Schmidt, who died attempting to summit K2 with their father, Marty Schmidt.
This year, the event had an intriguing location: Tony Buzbee’s private residence. The high-profile trial lawyer’s address has become an attraction of late. In 2016, his River Oaks Boulevard manse housed a fundraiser for presidential candidate Donald
Trump. The following year, Buzbee parked a World War II tank (reportedly purchased at auction in France for a cool $600,000) on the residential street, much to the homeowners association’s dismay. And on Dec. 27, 2017, Lindy Lou
Layman allegedly destroyed two Andy Warhol works (doing $300,000 worth of damage) inside the home during a first date gone awry. (Layman was released on bond and is awaiting trial.)
So, naturally, last week’s reception attracted a colorful and curious crowd.
The shindig tagged as a “Celebration of the Arts” was intended to thank the “long-term supporters and generous donors past, present and future of the Denali Foundation.” It also offered an opportunity to peek at Buzbee’s storied art collection.
Spoiler alert: Buzbee didn’t disappoint.
A pop-art quartet of Warhol’s “Birth of Venus (After Botticelli)” welcomed guests into the traditional foyer. A Picasso hung above a sittingroom fireplace; there was another along a wooden corridor. Even the hired security guard couldn’t resist snapping photos of two Monets just outside the formal dining room.
Can you blame him? It’s not every day that a Bayou City cocktail party goes full-blown “Da Vinci Code.”
Meanwhile, the host — clad in festive salmon pants — mingled with makeup artist Jentry
Kelley, Cindi and Dr. Franklin Rose, Erica Rose Sanders
and Charles Sanders, Tena Lundquist Faust, Tama Lundquist, Staci and Quang
Henderson, and Tracy and Harry Faulkner as Liberty Kitchen’s Lance Fegen shuttled miniature bites to and from the kitchen.
Sequoia, with help from mistress of ceremonies Sharron Melton, led the short and sweet program with a philanthropic slant. Soireegoers were invited to help fund the Denali Foundation’s center for creativity in Nepal, as well as initiatives to provide local underserved students with art supplies in honor of the late Denali, an artist. Singer/songwriter Mary
Griffin and concert pianist Di Wu each delivered impressive performances. And later, Jaci
Day emphasized the importance of community-arts programming on behalf of the Assistance League of Houston, the evening’s beneficiary, which raised more than $30,000, thanks in part to a generous donation from Buzbee.