Menil Collection - Houston, Texas

Address:1515 Sul Ross St.
Houston, Texas
Tel: (713) 525-9400

Step into John and Dominique de Menil's private collection and you will experience one of the most significant collections of the 20th century, consisting of almost 15,000 works dating from the Paleolithic era to the present. Only open to the public since June 1987, the Menil Collection is divided into four areas: Antiquity, Byzantine and Medieval, 20th Century, and Tribal Art, which all await you in this delectable collection.

The antiquity collection consists primarily of material from Europe and Asia Minor. Exhibited are incised bones delicately engraved with deer and horses dated 22,000 BCE - 15,000 BCE, the oldest work in the collection. Pieces from the Early Dynastic II period include statues such as Votive Statue of Eannatum, Prince of Lagash, and two Roman-Egyptian mummy portraits dated about 150-200 CE. Also included are two noteworthy brooches from the Tyrol, a part of the early Celtic art collection. A bronze openwork plaque known as Phalera, one of ten known quadrilobe mounts found in southern England is also showcased for your viewing pleasure. This collection demonstrates the melding of art from the past to the present.

The Byzantine & Medieval collection showcases icon paintings and 2,000 pieces from Russia, Asia Minor, and the Mediterranean world. Some priceless works include a gold casket from Macedonia (early 6th Century), and the most important 16th century Russian icon, Saint George and the Dragon, one of the best examples from the Novgorod School (noted for its icon and mural painters from the 12th century through the 16th century).

The museum's 20th century collection focuses on European Modernism, Surrealism and American postwar art and includes works of Yves Tanguy, René Magritte, Max Ernst, Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso and others. The museum also houses an extensive collection of pop art and contemporary art of Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Mark Rothko, Robert Rauschenberg and Cy Twombly.

The Tribal Art collection showcases handsome treasures brought to the museum from unknown worlds. These include figurines, animals, fetishes, masks, and ceremonial and useful objects.

In addition to the diverse permanent collection, The Menil Collection has a gallery set aside for traveling exhibitions.

To get to the Menil Collection from southbound US 59, take Shepherd exit. Head north to W. Alabama and make a right. Cross Mandell and you'll see the museum lot before Mulberry. From downtown, take Main St. and turn west onto W. Alabama.

The Menil Collection building is the centerpiece of a neighborhood with gallery spaces and other related cultural institutions in a park like setting. You will surely enjoy the time you spend here.

The Menil Collection, which is operated by the Menil Foundation, Inc., opened to the public in June 1987 as the primary repository of John and Dominique de Menil's private collection. One of the most significant of the twentieth century, the collection consists of nearly 15,000 works dating from the Paleolithic era to the present day. Although historically vast, it uniquely resists the conventional museum model of the encyclopedia. Instead, within the four areas that largely define the collection—Antiquity, Byzantine and Medieval, Tribal, and Twentieth-Century Art (with a concentration in Surrealism)—one finds a selective approach to acquisition that yields depth with regard to particular areas and artists.