The Menil Collection The Menil Collection

Main Building

Opened in 1987, The Menil Collection houses a world of art, from the prehistoric to the present day. Exhibited on site in sky-lit galleries and upstairs "treasure rooms," the collection continues to grow. Paintings, sculptures, decorative objects, prints, works on paper, photographs, and rare books are on view, lent to national and international exhibitions, and accessible to scholars.

Cy Twombly Gallery

Adjacent to the main museum, the eponymous Cy Twombly Gallery houses a body of work that is at once baroque and spare, ancient and modern. Cy Twombly (1928–2011) emerged from the New York art world of the early 1950s, though his approach to painting and sculpture defied affiliation with any predominant movement of the mid-20th century (such as Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, or Minimalism).

Dan Flavin Installation at Richmond Hall

In 1990 Dominique de Menil approached the Minimalist sculptor Dan Flavin to create a permanent, site-specific installation at Richmond Hall, then an annex exhibition space. Just two days before his death in November 1996, Flavin completed his design. The artist’s studio completed the work. Executed in the artists signature sensuous but utilitarian medium of fluorescent-light tubes, the Flavin installation at Richmond Hall radiates both carnival and cathedral.

Menil Drawing Institute

The Menil Drawing Institute was established in 2008 in recognition of drawing’s centrality in the lives of artists and its crucial role in modern and contemporary artistic culture. The Drawing Institute has since developed a national profile for exhibitions, scholarship, and collaboration. In 2012, after an international competition, the Los Angeles–based firm Johnston Marklee was selected to be the architects of a freestanding building for the Drawing Institute.

Byzantine Fresco Chapel

Reopened in 2015, the former Byzantine Fresco Chapel (BFC) has been repurposed to house an experimental series of year-long, site-specific contemporary art installations. Originally opened in 1997, the BFC was designed by architect Francois de Menil to house an installation of two 13th-century Christian frescoes from Cyprus that were on long-term loan.

Bistro Menil

Bistro Menil offers European-inspired, American fare paired with craft beer, cask wine, and thoughtfully selected wines by the glass or bottle.

Menil Bookstore

Housed in a gray Menil bungalow, the Menil Bookstore faces the main entrance of the museum building. Inside, you will find a broad range of volumes from the Menil Collection imprint (including many now-rare exhibition catalogs), as well as an array of contemporary art, architecture, design, and special interest books. The Menil Bookstore also features a large children’s book and toy section, carefully curated gifts and merchandise, and a small but special selection of jewelry and artwork by Texas-based artists.

Rothko Chapel

The Rothko Chapel, a nonprofit institution run independently of the Menil, is a sacred place open to all people, every day of the year. Dedicated in 1971, it was one of John and Dominique de Menil’s first monumental projects and their last completed together. A tranquil meditative environment inspired by the mural canvases of Russian-born American painter Mark Rothko (1903–1970), the Chapel welcomes over 80,000 visitors each year, people of any faith and from all parts of the world. On the plaza, Barnett Newman's The Broken Obelisk stands in memory of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Menil Park and Neighborhood

Lined with early-20th-century bungalows and shaded by live oak trees, the 30-acre campus is integral to the Menil aesthetic and experience. Tucked away in a residential enclave of a bustling city, the Menil’s collection of buildings and green spaces are a source of civic energy and domestic tranquility. Residents as well as museum visitors from around the globe have likened the Menil neighborhood to an urban oasis.