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The Menil Collection

Yes, it's uncool to toast the leisure activity of two rich old white people, but Dominique and John de Menil brought to Houston works by true greats of the 20th century, including Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Pablo Picasso, Robert Rauschenberg, Man Ray, Cy Twombly and Andy Warhol, as well as artifacts from ancient Africa, early Mediterranean civilizations and the Byzantine empire. The Menil Collection is the one most likely to house something from your art history textbook. It's more than a great local art institution -- it's a world-class museum. Not to mention the stunning building itself -- Renzo Piano's light-washed galleries are the standard by which to measure all other museums.

1533 Sul Ross Houston, TX 77006

neighborhoodMontrose

Location Phone713-525-9400

URL menil.org

Hours: Sun, Wed-Sat 11am-7pm

  • Australia's Ancient History is Preserved by Contemporary Artists in "Mapa Wiya"
    With a history that dates back 50,000 years (or more) to Mungo Man LM3 and Mungo Lady, and on a continent that at one time supported 500 different language groups, the histories of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been preserved through songs, performances, oral histories, sculptures and...

    By Susie Tommaney

  • What's Happening at Those Museums You Never Visit
    Let's face it, art scenes can be intimidating. Beyond the high profile museums you only visit with your out of town relatives (the ones who don't day drink), the deeper trenches of this, or any city's art community often feel as though they're inhabited by an impenetrable club of bohemian...

    By Carlos Brandon

  • Best Curator
    In Houston's stacked visual arts landscape, a quiet powerhouse has built an unyielding curatorial résumé featuring works by artists that you may have heard of before — Andy Warhol and Richard Serra, for instance. Her name is Michelle White and she joined the Menil in 2006 before eventually ascending from assistant curator to associate curator and then to curator in October 2011.

  • Best Art Gallery
    The Menil Collection

  • Art Collected by the de Menils 50 Years Ago Helps Politically Unstable Mali Today
    During the '50s and '60s, art coming out of Africa became all the rage, and especially with artists and savvy collectors. Museum founders John and Dominique de Menil traveled to countries in Africa and, while they did not visit the Bandiagara escarpment, they did acquire more than 80 works from that...

    By Susie Tommaney

  • The Five Best Things to Do in Houston This Weekend: Art, a Bluesy Ballet and Brunch
    There's nothing traditional about this weekend, and that's a good thing. We're celebrating the grand opening of Smither Park with its everything-but-the-kitchen-sink mosaic masterpieces, the Alley Theatre starts its pedestrian-centric theatrical experience in a cemetery, and Musiqa is jazzing up its season opener with saxophones and a ballet. Refuel and recharge with...

    By Susie Tommaney

  • Andy Warhol’s Sunset: Discovering Poetry in Little Motion
    The sun sets slowly into the Pacific. Gorgeous pink and orange deepen to lush purple and black. Diagonals from upper left to lower right emphasize the sinking sun and the deepening color. An unsexed voice – that of the singer Nico – drones a mesmerizing (nearly annoying) strain: He walks...

    By Randy Tibbits

  • Commissioned by John and Dominique in '64, Warhol's Sunset Rises at The Menil
    Nico was one of those luminaries whose star burned a little too brightly, leaving in her wake a body of work that included collaborations with Federico Fellini, The Velvet Underground and Bob Dylan, while also inspiring many musicians, including Björk and Patti Smith. But it was her involvement with Andy...

    By Susie Tommaney

  • The “As Essential as Dreams” Collection Is Almost Guaranteed to Surprise
    When it comes to art, it’s easy to get lost in terminology, especially art that’s new to you. I know because I did that as I tried to understand “As Essential as Dreams: Self-Taught Art from the Collection of Stephanie and John Smither,” an exhibition that opened recently at the...

    By Randy Tibbits

  • Smither Collection at The Menil Brings Outsider and Visionary Art Indoors
    If you love Smither Park – and what's not to love about East End's whimsical and colorful, ever-evolving public space decorated with found and repurposed objects – you're going to appreciate the new exhibit at The Menil Collection. “As Essential As Dreams: Self-Taught Art from the Collection of Stephanie and...

    By Susie Tommaney

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