The Menil Collection was opened to the public in 1987. It is located in the Montrose Museum District in a set of unique gallery spaces, and houses a collection of over 15,000 pieces of art.
The collection represents the lifetime private collections of John and Dominique de Menil. The works date from the Paleolithic era to post war America. The art is housed in four separate collections - Antiquity, Byzantine and Medieval, Tribal and 20th Century Art.
John and Dominique fled Nazi-occupied France and settled in America. Under the guidance of gallery owners and scholars they began their private collections of art. Following the death of John de Menil Dominique commissioned Italian architect Renzo Piano to design the Museum that was opened in 1987. An annex was later added in 1995 to house the Cy Twombly Gallery and a Dan Falvin installation - Dominique's last commission before her death in 1997.
Works from the Palaeolithic and Iron Age eras include bones engraved with deer and horses, and bronze artifacts. There are over 2,000 pieces of medieval and iconic art such as a 16th century Russian icon of Saint George and the Dragon, and a gold casket dating from 6th century Macedonia. The tribal art collection features over 200 exhibits such as ceremonial treasures and masks.
The de Menil 20th century art collection features pieces from Modernist, Surrealist and post-war American schools of painting. These include works by Cezanne, Matisse, Picasso, Dali, Ernst and Miro amongst many others. The post war American collection includes works by Rothko, Pollack and Newman.
