TONIGHT WE REMEMBER A MAN OFTEN DESCRIBED AS A VISIONARY AND FORCE FOR GROWTH AND CREATIVITY IN THIS COMMUNITY. GILMORE WAS A HEARST DIRECTOR AND FORMER CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER HERE IN SOUTH FLORIDA. HE WAS A BELOVED COMMUNITY MEMBER AND A FRIEND TO SO MANY. GILMORE CALLED PALM BEACH COUNTY HOME. HE HAD A PASSION FOR THE ARTS AND CULTURE AND WAS A TRUSTEE AND DIRECTOR AT THE NORTON MUSEUM OF ART IN WEST PALM BEACH. WITHOUT A DOUBT, THERE IS NO QUESTION THIS MUSEUM WOULDN’T BE WHAT IT IS TODAY. THE ENTIRE NORMAN FOSTER EXPANSION, OUR ART COLLECTION, THE QUALITY OF OUR TRUSTEES AND WHAT WE ATTRACT AND MEAN FOR THE COMMUNITY IS LARGELY DUE TO GILMORE. BRUCE GENDELMAN SERVED ON THE BOARD WITH GIL FOR MANY YEARS AND CALLS HIM A FRIEND AND MENTOR. HE SAYS GIL BELIEVES STRONGLY IN MAKING THE ARTS ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE. GIL INSTILLED WITHIN THE INSTITUTION THIS OVERRIDING SENSE OF MISSION AND THAT SENSE OF MISSION IS TO HELP EDUCATE ALL PEOPLE, TO HELP BRING CULTURE TO THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY. GIL GAVE ME A TOUR DURING THE NORTON’S MASSIVE EXPANSION AND RENOVATION IN 2018. YOUR VISION CAME TO LIFE THAT IT DID INDEED. AND WAIT TILL YOU SEE THE REST OF IT. I MEAN, IT IS ABSOLUTELY MARVELOUS. SOME PEOPLE HAVE NO ART BACKGROUND, BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE ART, YOU COULD BE TOUCHED ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. AND THAT’S THE MAGIC OF THE ARTIST. AND, YOU KNOW, GIL HIMSELF WAS AN ARTIST. HIS GREAT UNCLE ALFRED WAS A MAJOR ARTIST. AND HE ALWAYS BELIEVED IN THE POWER OF ART TO TOUCH ANYBODY’S SOUL. LAST FEBRUARY, HIS CLOSE FRIEND BONNIE MCELVEEN-HUNTER COMMISSIONED A SYMPHONY IN HONOR OF HIS 95TH BIRTHDAY AT THE KRAVIS CENTER. I HAVE NEVER WALKED IN HIS HOME WITHOUT HEARING CLASSICAL MUSIC, AND I THOUGHT, MUSIC IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT WE CAN’T ALWAYS SEE WHERE IT’S COMING FROM, WHAT IT TOUCHES. BUT IT IS IN MANY CASES, THE SOUND OF. JOY, LOVE AND PROMISE FOR THE FUTURE. AND WHEN I THINK OF GIL MOORER, I THINK OF THOSE THINGS. GIL DIED SUNDAY AT HIS HOME ON PALM BEACH. HE W
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Palm Beach County mourns the loss of arts advocate Gil Maurer
Updated: 7:11 PM EDT Apr 8, 2025
Gil Maurer, a beloved resident of Palm Beach County and a passionate advocate for the arts and culture, has passed away. Maurer was a trustee and director at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach.”Without a doubt, there’s no question this museum wouldn’t be what it is today. The entire Norman Foster expansion, our art collection, the quality of our trustees and what we attract and mean for the community is largely due to Gil Maurer,” said Bruce Gendelman, chairman of the board of trustees at the Norton Museum.Gendelman, who served on the board with Maurer for many years and considered him a friend and mentor, said Maurer believed strongly in making the arts accessible to everyone.”Gil instilled within the institution this overriding sense of mission, and that sense of mission is to help educate all people, to help bring culture to the entire community,” Gendelman said.Maurer played a significant role during the Norton Museum’s massive expansion and renovation in 2018, providing a tour to showcase the developments.”Some people have no art background, but if you look at the arts, you could be touched one way or the other. And that’s the magic of the artist. And, you know, Gil himself was an artist. His great-uncle Alfred was a major artist. And he always believed in the power of art to touch anybody’s soul,” said Ghislain d’Humières.Last February, Maurer’s close friend Bonnie McElveen-Hunter commissioned a symphony in honor of his 95th birthday at the Kravis Center.”I have never walked in his home without hearing classical music. And I thought, music is one of those things that we can’t always see where it’s coming from, what it touches. But it is, in many cases, the sound of joy, love, and promise for the future. And when I think of Gil Maurer, I think of those things,” McElveen-Hunter said.
Gil Maurer, a beloved resident of Palm Beach County and a passionate advocate for the arts and culture, has passed away. Maurer was a trustee and director at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach.
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“Without a doubt, there’s no question this museum wouldn’t be what it is today. The entire Norman Foster expansion, our art collection, the quality of our trustees and what we attract and mean for the community is largely due to Gil Maurer,” said Bruce Gendelman, chairman of the board of trustees at the Norton Museum.
Gendelman, who served on the board with Maurer for many years and considered him a friend and mentor, said Maurer believed strongly in making the arts accessible to everyone.
“Gil instilled within the institution this overriding sense of mission, and that sense of mission is to help educate all people, to help bring culture to the entire community,” Gendelman said.
Maurer played a significant role during the Norton Museum’s massive expansion and renovation in 2018, providing a tour to showcase the developments.
“Some people have no art background, but if you look at the arts, you could be touched one way or the other. And that’s the magic of the artist. And, you know, Gil himself was an artist. His great-uncle Alfred was a major artist. And he always believed in the power of art to touch anybody’s soul,” said Ghislain d’Humières.
Last February, Maurer’s close friend Bonnie McElveen-Hunter commissioned a symphony in honor of his 95th birthday at the Kravis Center.
“I have never walked in his home without hearing classical music. And I thought, music is one of those things that we can’t always see where it’s coming from, what it touches. But it is, in many cases, the sound of joy, love, and promise for the future. And when I think of Gil Maurer, I think of those things,” McElveen-Hunter said.