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Home , Alexander Iolas, Broken Obelisk, Dominique de Menil, John de Menil

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MENIL BISTRO H A John & Dominique , MENIL TH E COLLECTION n BOOKS TORE o s t r

de Menil e

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e MENIL y k l s The story of the Menil c

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Chapel : r o

e G d m Universi ty of t

Collection begins in o

B C p b t n t n l o u

a St. Thomas b o u

THE MENI L Y

with the 1931 marriage of o s t i

r M M M p COL LECTI ON a o P

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John de Menil (190 4–73 ), , P s h G p A a r Branard D

a young banker from a g A

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w John and , 1967 t BYZANTINE n e o s t

N Dominique s

FRESCO , u u ) o S a R

CHAPEL H

West Mai n r , A (1908–97), daughter of Conrad Schlum berger, one of the ( n

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t founders of the oil services company Schlumberger, Ltd. b o S e o

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o The de Menils left France during World War II, making e g i k R c L

Le surreálisme et i Col quitt s H t

s : Col quitt i their way to , where John would eventually direct

la peinture ( t h r p A a

and Painting ), 1942 r 5 g

1 Schlumberger’s worldwide operations. g o t 0 n

Oil on canvas o 2

i h © INSTALLATION P k 77 x 92 inches The de Menils quickly became key figures in Houston’s r Streets

a AT RICHMOND HALL P Sid ewalks N developing cultural life as advocates of and Richm ond archi tecture and supporters of civil and human rights. They commissioned the The Outdoor Sculpture 1533 Sul Ross Street Art: Take it off its marble pedestal and show it as a architect to design their home Houston, 77006 Jim Love Mark di Suvero daily companion, refreshing, human and rich; witness (one of the first International Style residences 713-525-9400 A. Jack, 1971 G. Bygones, 1976 of its time and prophet of times to come. in Texas), which they filled with art and where Cy Twombly Gallery Max Neuhaus they hosted many of the leading artists, scien -

— s B. Sound Figure, 2007 H. , 196 3– 67 i 1501 Branard Street r a P

, tists, civil rights activists, and intel lectuals P

Dan Flavin Installation at Michael Heizer G A

D of the day. During the 1950s and 1960s, the A

Richmond Hall C. Charmstone, 1991 /

k 1500 Richmond Avenue D. Isolated Mas s/Circumflex (:2), r de Menils promoted modern art through the o Y

196 8 –78 w e Contemporary Arts Museum Houston and N

Byzantine Chapel , E. Dissipate , 1970 The Menil Collection opened to the public ) S

4011 Yupon Street R the Museum of Fine Arts, A

F. Rift , 1968/1982 Welcome (

in June 1987 to house, exhibit, and preserve y t e

i Houston (to which they gave

Menil Bookstore c o S

the art collection of John and Dominique s 1520 Sul Ross Street t important gifts of art), and h g 713-535-3180 i de Menil. Assembled over the course of many R

s

t founded the art history depart -

Support The Menil Collection s i t decades by the Houston philanthropists, the collection is r A Museum and Bookstore Hours: The Menil Collection is a not-for-profit organization that grate - 5 ment at the Uni ver sity of 1

Wed .–Sun. , 44 a.m. –8 p.m. 0

recognized not only for its quality and depth but also for 2

fully relies on our many friends to foster its important activities.

Free admission © St. Thomas and the Institute Your support is vital to the museum’s mission and helps us share its distinctive presentation and eclecticism. An actively Exhibition programs are funded for the Arts at Rice our collection, special exhibitions, and public programs free collecting institution, the Menil Collection contains diverse in part by the City of Houston. to visitors. Please consider making a gift online at menil.or g, Fernand Léger , Nature University. They commissioned a suite of or by check to 1515 Branard, Houston, Texas 77006. holdings representing many world cultures and thousands morte (Still Life ), 1927 Bistro Menil Oil on canvas paintings by the artist for a 1513 West Alabama Street of years of human creativity, from prehistoric times to the Become a Menil Member 36 1/8 x 2 31/2 inches chapel; dedicated in 1971, the Rothko 713-904-3537 present. The museum , which is operated by the Menil Hours: Wed .–Sat., 43 a.m .–43 p.m. Members enjoy special events and unique experiences Chapel campus also features Barnett Sun., 43 a.m .–9 p.m. and provide critical support for exhibitions and programs. Foundation, Inc., is also recognized for presenting special Newman’s sculpture Broken Obelisk (1963 –67), exhibitions and programs throughout the year. Free parking lots at 3 Easy Ways to Join honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The 4646 West Alabama Street and Onsit e: Join at the museum reception desks and Located in a quiet residential neighborhood within n

o de Menils also initiated several ambitious t

adjacent to Richmond Hall and s at the Menil Bookstore u Houston’s Museum District, the Menil Collection anchors o

the H research and publishing projects, such as

Onlin e: Join on our secure website at menil.org , n

o a cultural enclave of shaded streets where bungalows stand s x

By phon e: Call the Membership Office at 713-525-9435 i the catalogues raisonnés of the artists René H

e side-by-side with artist pavilions and outdoor sculptur e g r Magritte and Max Ernst, and the multiple - o e G

Menil Bookstore and near an art-filled chapel —the whole shaped by the :

The h volume Image of the Black in Western Art. p a

Located across from the main entrance of the museum, r 3900 Yupon at Sul Ross Street g vision and generous spirit of the de Menil family. o t

the bookstore offers a diverse selection of art publications, o 713-524-9839 h Figure, attributed to the Ashmolean master, , Cycladic p

r

Hours: Daily, 43 a.m .–7 p.m. children’s books and toys, and cards . e Islands, possibly Naxos, 240 0–2300 BCE . Marble, 1 41/2 x v o

C 41/2 x 11/4 inches men il.o rg

Printed with low-VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) inks on recycled paper containing at least 40% postconsumer waste February 5346 n r o t e

John and Dominique de Menil s Working with the architectural firm z i u e The Colle ction o The Museum H H

l

,

began collecting art intensively in e Building Workshop of n a o h s c i x i M the 1940s, ultimately amassing more H Genoa, , Dominique de Menil

5 e 1 g r 0 o 2 e than 17,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photo - envisioned a building that seemed “large on the inside but G ©

: t h

graphs, functional items, and rare books. They were deeply g small on the outside.” The interior galleries and storage areas i r

; y a are spacious enough to accommodate the vast collection

influenced by four figures: Father Marie-Alain Couturier, w a d r a

a Dominican priest and an advocate for incorporating H but also intimate, including design elements inspired by the

+ n

o r t e s t s modern art into the ; the international art de Menils’ single-story hous e— discreet spaces, dark floors, u e o H H

: , n dealer ; and the renowned curators Jermayne m large windows, and atrium gardens filled with lush, tropical o o s t t x i o H b

MacAgy and Walter Hopps. A core strength of the growing plants. The understated edifice of steel, glass, and cypress e d g n r a o

t e f G collection was European art (including Surrealist works e siding echoes the human scale of its park-like setting. l

, : e s l h d p d by , Max Ernst, René Magritte, , (The museum’s muted gray matches that of the surrounding i a r m g

o d t n o and Yves Tanguy) and Cubist and School of painters bungalows, which are used as residences and offices.) a

h p P o t

:

(including Fernand Léger, Henri Matisse, and ). Piano developed an imaginative system for modulating the s h p a r

By the 1960s the de Menils had gravitated toward the major bright Texas sun, using fixed ceiling louvers, skylights, and g o t o h American postwar movements of , expansive windows that gently suffuse the galleries with P , and . Over the years the family enjoyed what Dominique de Menil called “living light,” illumination South entrance close personal friendships with many of the artists whose gallery and north atrium North facade and entrance with Michael Heizer, that varies with the weather, time of day, and season. Isolated Mass/Circumfle x (#2), 196 8–78 In 1995, collaborating with work they collected, including , Ernst, Jasper (detail, foreground) A love of simplicity per- An Enduring Legacy the , the n o t Johns, , Magritte, , and s vades every aspect of the Menil u

o Menil Collection opened the H

,

Andy Warhol. n Collection. Within a series of o

s Cy Twombly Gallery, a satellite building on the Menil campus. t

As the idea of a museum slowly took shape, r e

As modernists, the de Menils recognized a profound b serene galleries, works of art are o

R Also designed by Renzo Piano, it houses more than thirty -

I dreamed of preserving some of the intimacy I had y e

formal and spiritual connection between contemporary k generously spaced and installed c i works by the abstract painter and sculptor Cy Twombly. H

enjoyed with the works of art: we would rotate portions : works of art and the arts of ancient and indigenous cultures, h at eye level, encouraging personal Dan Flavin, , p

a The following year Dominique de Menil commissioned artis t r

g 1996 (exterior detail,

of the collection in generous and attractive spac e. . . o broadening the collection to include works from classical t interaction with each. There o Richmond Hall) Dan Flavin to create a site-specific installation with works h P Mediterranean civilizations and The public would never know museum fatigue are no audio tours, and wall and of fluorescent light for nearby Richmond the , as well as and would have the rare joy of sitting in front label text is spar e—all to foster a

k Hall, built as a grocery store in 1930. r o Y objects from Africa, the Pacific of a painting and contemplating it. more intimate exchange between w These spaces are integral components e N

,

Islands, and the Pacific Northwest. object and visitor. The museum )

—Dominique de Menil S of the Menil neighborhood and, along R /

A n ( i

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At the time of John de Menil’s offers free printed gallery guides y t a l

e with the Rothko Chapel, all are within i F

c n o e death in 1973, the couple had Antiquities galleries for special exhibitions, as well S

h s p t a short walk of the main museum e h t g S i

begun to explore the idea of build - as a wide range of publications R 5

s 1 building. In 1997, the Byzantine Fresco t 0 s i 2 t

ing a museum to house their col - available in the Menil Collection r © A Chapel, designed by architect Francois lection. Surviving her husband by Bookstore. de Menil, was opened to house two a quarter of a century, Dominique In keeping with the egali- thirteenth-century frescoes rescued and de Menil would pursue that dream. tarian beliefs of its founding restored on behalf of the Holy Arch - patrons, the Menil charges no bishopric of . After an extended admission fee. Menil members loan, they were returned in 2012, and and other generous donors help to a series of site-specific projects in the make many programs—including n building began in 2015. o t s

lectures, films, and concerts— u o

H John and Dominique de Menil left

, n o n free to the public. s o t t r a remarkable legacy to Houston and to s e u

North promenade b o o H R

-

, the world. Today the Menil Collection, y n e o k s c x i i

H whose holdings continue to grow, is a H

: e h g p r a o r vital part of the city’s cultural life, an e g o G

t : o h h

p inter national destinatio n— and an ideal P a r g o

t Central corridor outside the

o Cy Twombly Gallery (exterior detail) setting for personal reflection and the h

P Surrealist art galleries quiet contem plation of art.