The Menil Collection

Location: 1500 Binz, Houston
Time: Tue-Sat 9am-5pm, Sun 12pm-5pm

The Menil Collection is a museum designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, opened in 1987 to feature the massive art collection of Houstonians John and Dominique de Menil. They amassed over 15,000 paintings, drawings, and sculptures during their lifetime together and after her husband’s death, it became Dominique de Menil’s mission to showcase the collections in a way that would benefit the entire community.

In the same park-like area as the main building stands the Rothko Chapel, which was built based on Philip Johnson sketches in order to house fourteen of Mark Rothko’s minimalist paintings. The newest addition is the Byzantine Fresco Chapel, which houses the only two thirteenth-century Byzantine frescoes in the Western Hemisphere. Both chapels are popular as meditative spaces.

The Menil Collection is most well-known for its collections of European modernist art and surrealism. The collection of surrealistic art is widely considered to be among the finest in the world.

On permanent display are works of Salvador Dalí, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Man Ray, Matta, Joan Miró, Francis Picabia, Pablo Picasso, and Yves Tanguy. The collection features several rotating exhibits as well as an ongoing lecture series with artist conversations. On your next visit to Houston, experience this truly remarkable museum.