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Menil Collection

The Menil Collection opened in 1987 to preserve and exhibit the art collection of John and Dominique de Menil. Considered one of the most important privately assembled collections of the twentieth century, The Menil Collection houses approximately 15,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs, and rare books. Masterpieces from antiquity, the Byzantine and medieval worlds, the tribal cultures of Africa, Oceania, and the American Pacific Northwest, and the twentieth century are particularly well represented. Among the highlights of the museum are its Surrealist holdings, widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost collections of its kind. The Menil Collection displays selections from its permanent collection and regularly offers special exhibitions and programs to the public.

Acclaimed by critics as a triumph of modern architecture, The Menil Collection was designed by a joint venture of Renzo Piano/Building Workshop, Genoa, Italy and Richard Fitzgerald & Partners, Houston. The museum’s ingenious roof and skylight system, interior atrium gardens, and large windows fill the galleries with natural light, reflecting subtle changes of weather, season, and time of day. Throughout the museum, visitors find quiet, contemplative spaces, ideal for viewing art.

The Menil Collection’s exterior, a long, understated facade of white steel and gray cypress siding, stands in harmony with the surrounding 1920s-era bungalows. Through its building program the Menil Foundation has created a renowned cultural oasis while preserving the integrity of this tranquil residential neighborhood.

• At-a-
  Glance

  • Contact Info

    Menil Collection

    1515 Sul Ross
    Houston, TX 77006

    Phone: 713-525-9400

    Fax: 713-525-9444

    Email

    Website

  • Map

    Full map and directions

  • Parking Info

    Parking at 1515 West Alabama and on the street near the building.

  • Accessibility Info

    Currently no accessibility information is available for this event.

  • NOTE: We do our best to ensure all information is accurate, however it's a good idea to visit the website or call the venue to verify the information.

• Current &
  Upcoming Events

  • Current Events

    08/27/10- 11/28/10	Earth Paint Paper Wood: Recent Acquisitions Menil Collection
    08/13/10- 10/31/10	Objects of Devotion Menil Collection

  • Upcoming Events

    09/05/10	Gallery Talk The Artist's Eye: Howard Sherman on Cy Twombly Gallery Menil Collection
    09/20/10	Menil Gallery Talk: Earth Paint Paper Wood: Recent Acquisitions Menil Collection
    10/12/10	Menil Illustrated Conversation: 'Objects of Devotion' with Kristina Van Dyke and Linda Neagley Menil Collection
    10/19/10	Arcanto Quartet Menil Collection
    10/22/10	Menil Gallery Talk: A Conversation with Isabel Schulz and Josef Helfenstein Menil Collection
    10/22/10- 01/30/11	Kurt Schwitters: Color and Collage Menil Collection
    11/02/10	ICE: New Sounds Menil Collection
    11/03/10	Menil Publication party and Booksigning: Art & Activism: Projects of John and Dominique de Menil Menil Collection
    11/19/10	Menil Gallery Talk: A conversation with Vija Celmins, Franklin Sirmans, and Michelle White Menil Collection
    11/19/10- 02/20/11	Vija Celmins: Television and Disaster, 1964-1968 Menil Collection
    12/01/10	History of the Slave Trade and Visual Culture in Cameroon and Nigeria, Kairn A. Klieman and Kristina Van Dyke Menil Collection
    12/17/10- 04/03/11	Tony Smith : Drawings Menil Collection
    02/25/11- 02/26/11	Music for Rothko Menil Collection
    03/29/11	Jeremy Denk: The American Piano Menil Collection

• Past
  Events

  • Past Events

    06/15/10	One Was Nude and One Wore Tails (One-Night-Only Public Performance) Menil Collection
    06/10/10	Reading and Book Signing: Annie Cohen-Solal Menil Collection
    06/06/10	Gallery Talk The Artist's Eye: Nathaniel Donnett on Robert Rauschenberg Menil Collection
    05/23/10	Anarchist Picnic Menil Collection
    05/20/10	The Menil Hosts a Reading with WITS and Glass Mountain Menil Collection
    05/10/10	Contemporary Art and Shifting Curatorial Practices: Lecture by curator Bisi Silva Menil Collection
    05/08/10	STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN! Family Concert: Da Camera's Young Artists Menil Collection
    05/02/10	Gallery Talk The Artist's Eye: Julie Ann Nagle on topic to be announced Menil Collection
    04/23/10	Film Screening: Picasso and Braque Go to the Movies Menil Collection
    04/11/10	Gallery Talk The Artist's Eye: Jillian Conrad on René Magritte Menil Collection
    04/09/10	Outdoor Film Screening: Andrea Grover, From the Menil Film Archive: Leaps into the Void Menil Collection
    04/06/10	Modern Romantics Menil Collection
    04/03/10	The Third Annual Houston Indie Book Festival Menil Collection
    04/02/10- 07/25/10	Steve Wolfe on Paper Menil Collection
    04/01/10	Panel Discussion: Steve Wolfe, Franklin Sirmans, and Carter Foster Menil Collection
    03/21/10	Outdoor Film Screening: Yves Klein, la révolution bleue Menil Collection
    03/20/10	FotoFest Gallery Talk: Michelle White, Harry Shunk's Leap in the the Void Menil Collection
    03/19/10- 08/08/10	Leaps into the Void: Documents of Nouveau Réalist Performance Menil Collection
    03/13/10	Menil Community Arts Festival Menil Collection
    03/10/10	Poetry Reading: Rita Dove Menil Collection
    03/07/10	Gallery Talk The Artist's Eye: Michael Bise on topic to be announced Menil Collection
    02/26/10	St. Martin de Porres Inaugural Lecture Celebrating Black History Month: Catherine Straight Menil Collection
    02/15/10	2010 Vivian L. Smith Lecture: Glenn Peers "Gold and Face: Living Members of the Menil’s Byzantium, Menil Collection
    02/12/10- 08/15/10	Maurizio Cattelan Menil Collection
    02/07/10	Gallery Talk The Artist's Eye: Amber Eagle on the exhibition Body in Fragments Menil Collection
    02/05/10	Conversation: Josef Helfenstein and Franklin Sirmans - Twentieth-Century Art at the Menil Collection Menil Collection
    01/26/10	Seymour Lipkin, piano Menil Collection
    01/14/10	Conversation: Mark Morris Menil Collection
    12/08/09	Lecture and Reading: Josef Helfenstein and Edward Snow Cy Twombly/Painting Poems Menil Collection
    12/06/09	Gallery Talk The Artist's Eye: James Sham on Dada and Surrealism Menil Collection
    11/17/09	Modern Virtuosos Menil Collection
    11/14/09	STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN! Family Concert: Da Camera’s Young Artists Menil Collection
    10/30/09- 02/14/10	Cy Twombly: Treatise on the Veil Menil Collection
    10/27/09	Eliot Fisk, guitar; John Gibbons, harpsichord Menil Collection
    10/06/09	6th Annual Art Lies Distinguished Critics Lecture Series: Raphael Rubinstein Menil Collection
    09/24/09- 01/03/10	Joaquín Torres-García: Wood Constructions Menil Collection
    09/06/09	Gallery Talk The Artist's Eye: John Runnels Menil Collection
    09/03/09	Mercury Baroque at the Menil Collection: Voz en Punto Menil Collection
    08/21/09- 02/08/10	Body in Fragments Menil Collection
    08/14/09	Menil Summer Movies in the Park: High Ho Silver Menil Collection
    08/07/09	In Memory of Merce Cunningham & Robert Rauschenberg Menil Collection
    07/31/09	Menil Summer Movies in the Park: High Noon Menil Collection
    06/16/09	Ekphrasis: Poems About Paintings Menil Collection
    06/13/09	Outdoor Film Screening: Andrea Grover, Menil Movies: Cinematic Works from the Menil Archives Menil Collection
    06/07/09	Gallery Talk The Artist's Eye: Libbie Masterson Menil Collection
    05/12/09	Panel Discussion: Contemporary Conversations, John Chamberlain's American Tableau Menil Collection
    05/10/09	Conversation: Claes Oldenburg and Bernice Rose Menil Collection
    05/09/09- 10/11/09	Drawings on Site: Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen Menil Collection
    05/03/09	Gallery Talk The Artist's Eye: Christopher Sperandio Menil Collection
    04/28/09	Public Lecture: Brad Epley - Conservation at the Menil: Preserving a Collection Menil Collection
    04/25/09	The Menil Arts Community Open House Menil Collection
    04/25/09	Aurora Picture Show at The Menil Arts Community Open House Menil Collection
    04/25/09	STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN! Family Concert: The New Songs Project Menil Collection
    04/21/09	From the Collection: Egyptian Art in the Menil Collection, a Conversation: Deborah Vischak Menil Collection
    04/13/09	Public Reading: Bodies of Paint, Bodies of Text: A Poetic Response to Marlene Dumas Menil Collection
    04/07/09	Chiara String Quartet Menil Collection
    04/05/09	Gallery Talk The Artist's Eye: Cory Wagner Menil Collection
    03/30/09	Reading and Booksigning: Andrei Codrescu, The Posthuman Dada Guide: Tzara and Lenin Play Chess Menil Collection
    03/27/09- 06/21/09	Marlene Dumas: Measuring Your Own Grave Menil Collection
    03/19/09- 08/02/09	Contemporary Conversations: John Chamberlain, American Tableau Menil Collection
    03/13/09	Public Lecture: The Walter Hopps Award for Curatorial Achievement Menil Collection
    03/12/09	African Burial Ground Project II: Return to the Ancestors: Builders of New York Menil Collection
    03/10/09	Menil/Rice Lecture Series: Richard Tuttle: Positive Art and Positive Healing Menil Collection
    03/01/09	Gallery Talk The Artist's Eye: Page Kempner Lummis Menil Collection
    02/17/09	Brentano String Quartet: Poetry and Music, Immigrants and Exiles Menil Collection
    02/08/09	STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN! Family Concert: Cultural Encounters through Music Menil Collection
    02/06/09- 04/26/09	Face Off: A Selection of Old Masters and Others from The Menil Collection Menil Collection
    02/06/09	John Sparagana: book signing and discussion Menil Collection
    02/03/09	Living Archives Series: Houston's Shia Ismaili Women: Education and Ethics Menil Collection
    01/13/09	Illustrated Conversation: William Camfield and Josef Helfenstein Menil Collection
    01/04/09	Gallery Talk The Artist's Eye: Andrea Grover Menil Collection
    10/31/08- 02/15/09	Max Ernst: In the Garden of Nymph Ancolie Menil Collection
    09/26/08- 01/04/09	Art and Power in the Central African Savanna Menil Collection
    08/15/08- 03/01/09	Imaginary Spaces: Selections from The Menil Collection Menil Collection