The Menil Collection The Menil Collection

Main Building

The Menil Collection main building features galleries of the museum’s permanent collection and changing exhibitions. The Menil is known for displays that allow the objects and works of art to speak for themselves—there are no “didactics” on the wall or media in the galleries—the Menil philosophy is to foster each individual’s direct, personal encounter with works of art.

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.

Cy Twombly Gallery

Adjacent to the main museum, the Cy Twombly Gallery is a single artist installation featuring the work of Cy Twombly (1928–2011). The artist was intimately involved in both the building—the plan has its roots in a sketch he made—and the selection and placement of artworks.

Dan Flavin Installation at Richmond Hall

Richmond Hall features a permanent, site-specific installation by Minimalist sculptor Dan Flavin (1933–1996). The artist designed three distinct pieces for the site, one on the exterior and two inside. The hall also includes an exhibition space to house four earlier Flavin works, the “monuments” for V. Tatlin, 1964–69.

Menil Collection Bookstore

The Menil Collection Bookstore offers a broad range of volumes from the Menil Collection imprint, including many rare exhibition catalogs, as well as an array of contemporary art, architecture, design, and special interest books. The Bookstore also features a large children’s book and toy section, carefully curated gifts and merchandise, and a special selection of jewelry and artwork by Texas-based artists.

Menil Park and Neighborhood

The neighborhood of the Menil Collection is punctuated by major works of outdoor sculpture. The outdoor expanse includes Menil Park, along Mulberry Street; McGovern Green, in front of the Cy Twombly Gallery; and across from the entrance to the Menil Drawing Institute.

Byzantine Fresco Chapel

In the 1980s, two thirteenth-century frescoes that had been stolen from a church in Lysi, Cyprus, and broken into fragments were put up for sale. The Menil Foundation purchased the frescoes on the church’s behalf and financed their restoration. In 1997, the Byzantine Fresco Chapel, designed by the architect Francois de Menil, opened. The chapel currently houses long-term art installations.