The Hindu Business Line : The Menils’ trove

Set amidst a scenic neighbourhood near downtown Houston, Texas in the US, The Menil Collection is an art-lovers’ paradise. With more than 16,000 paintings, sculptures, artefacts, drawings, photographs and rare books, this stunning collection houses arts ranging from the Paleolithic era to the classical Mediterranean civilisations and the Byzantine Empire, to the present day. What started off as a private collection by John and Dominique de Menil in the 1950s has toda y turned into a museum of sorts, where varied civilisations stand hand-in-hand.

John de Menil (1904-73) was a young banker from a military family when he got married to Dominique Schlumberger (1908-97), daughter of Conrad Schlumberger, one of the founders of the oil services company Schlumberger Ltd. The de Menils left France during World War II and set up their base in Houston, where John eventually looked after Schlumberger’s worldwide operations.

From across the globe

With an eye for architecture and modern art, the de Menils began collecting artefacts from across the globe. They were deeply influenced by four people — Father Marie-Alain Couturier, a Dominican priest and promoter of modern art in the Catholic Church; international art dealer and owner of the Hugo Gallery Alexander Iolas; and legendary curators and progressive scholars Jermayne MacAgy and Walter Hopps. With their guidance the de Menils began to collect art.

Though the initial focus of the de Menils was towards European art (including Surrealist art) and they enjoyed the works of Cubist and School of Paris painters, they soon started showing interest towards the major American post-war movements of Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, and Minimalism by the 1960s. Over the years, the couple enjoyed close personal friendship with many of the artists whose work they collected, such as Robert Rauschenberg, Yves Klein and Andy Warhol.

The de Menils were not just connoisseurs of art, but also advocates of modern art, architecture and supporters of civil and human rights. During the 1950s and 60s, they promoted modern art through the Contemporary Arts Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. They also founded the art history department at the University of St. Thomas and the Institute for the Arts at Rice University.

The de Menils collected art purely out of their strong inclination to possess the magnificent pieces. Since the 1950s, they began curating and lending their possessions to critically acclaimed exhibitions. They had begun to seriously take the idea of building a museum of their swelling collection before the death of John de Menil, primarily because of their increasing disillusionment with conventional museum practice.

To quote Dominique de Menil, “As the idea of a museum slowly took shape, I dreamed of preserving some of the intimacy I had enjoyed with the works of art: we would rotate portions of the collection in generous and attractive space… The public would never know museum fatigue and would have the rare joy of sitting in front of a painting and contemplating it”.

The Museum

Eventually, Dominique de Menil pursued it and The Menil Collection opened for the public in June 1987. The museum space is largely divided into four sections — Antiquity, Byzantine and Mediaeval, Tribal, and the 20th-Century Art.

The antiquities include sculptures and objects ranging from 22,000-15,000 B.C. to the first century A.D. These collections primarily come from Europe and Asia Minor. However, there are two Roman-Egyptian mummy portraits dating about A.D. 150-200. The Byzantine and Mediaeval section includes about 2,000 artefacts gathered from the Mediterranean region, Asia Minor, and Russia. One of the eye-catching pieces is a gold casket from early 16th century Macedonia.

Almost 200 artefacts comprise the Tribal section. Masks, costumes, animal and human figurines, wood and ivory carvings — all make up for an interesting study. Here, visitors are introduced to the concept of Surrealism, as it is seen as being influenced by Tribal art.

For instance, both Surrealists and tribals saw art in the nature around us; in everyday objects. According to the literature made available by the museum, the Surrealist map of the world, first published in the French periodical Variètès (June 1929), showed the importance the Surrealists attached to primitive cultures — especially those of the American Northwest Coast and the Pacific Islands. Thus, majority of the artefacts in this section were either owned by the Surrealists or are influenced by them. The 20th-Century art section mostly comprises European modernism, Surrealism, and American art from mid century. Works of international artists such as Georges Braque, Henri Matisse, Yves Tanguy, Pablo Picasso and Marcel Duchamp are put up here. Collections of Joseph Cornell, Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly and Andy Warhol are prominent under the American art.

Art exhibitions

The Menil Collection hosts different exhibitions throughout the year to highlight varied arts such as the recently held ‘NooHooDoo: Art for a Forgotten Faith’ exhibition. The term ‘HooDoo’ originated in the 19th century in the US, and refers to cultural traditions derived from the Haitian religion of Vodun, which has roots in the religion and culture of the Yoruba people of present-day Nigeria. In the 1970s, poet Ishmael Reed redefined this tradition as ‘NeoHooDoo’ to depict a spiritual practice outside of any specific faith or belief. Thus, artists have made use of everyday materials such as vinyl cloths, glass bottles, bags and shoes, to express ritualistic and spiritual ideas in the most contemporary form of art.

A notable exhibit is that of artist Doris Salcedo. Her piece ‘Atrabiliarios’ (1992-93) is a tribute to the people who have lost their lives due to political violence in Colombia, her homeland. Actual shoes worn by the victims are inserted into small caskets, which are then closed by stitching in animal skin — thus depicting the social injustice and violence.

The Menil Collection was architecturally constructed according to Dominique de Menil’s dream of a building “that seems large on the inside but small on the outside”. True to this idea, Italian architect Renzo Piano, in 1980, converted the de Menil’s single-story house into the current museum — white walls, large windows, ceiling with louvres for natural lighting effects, wooden flooring, and minimal furniture — giving individual importance to every exhibit. At the same time, its steel and glass edifice surrounded by lush, green lawns gives it a unique serene and intellectual look.

A couple of other structures initiated by the de Menils stand in the vicinity of The Menil Collection. A Cy Twombly Gallery, opened in February 1995 in collaboration with the abstract painter and sculptor, and the Dia Centre for the Arts, New York, flaunts more than 30 works of the artist. Richmond Hall, acquired by the de Menils, since November 1998, exhibits one of the only two permanent Dan Flavin installations in the US. The Rothko Chapel, founded by the de Menils in 1971, houses 14 Mark Rothko paintings. The Byzantine Fresco Chapel, opened in February 1997 by Dominique de Menil, proudly has the only two 13th century Byzantine frescos in the entire western hemisphere.

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