John de Ménil (January 4, 1904 – June 1, 1973) was a Franco-American businessman, philanthropist, and art patron.Helfenstein, Josef, and Laureen Schipsi. ''Art and Activism: Projects of John and Dominique de Menil''. Houston: The Menil Collection, 2010. "John de Menil, 69, a Patron of Art; Schlumberger Officer Dies—Financed Rothko Chapel,"
''The New York Times''. June 2, 1973. He was the founding president of the

International Foundation for Art Research The International Foundation for Art Research (IFAR) is a non-profit organization which was established to channel and coordinate scholarly and technical information about works of art. IFAR provides an administrative and legal framework within wh ...

(IFAR) in New York. With his wife,

Dominique de Menil Dominique de Menil (née Schlumberger; March 23, 1908 – December 31, 1997) was a French-American art collector, philanthropist, founder of the Menil Collection and an heiress to the Schlumberger Limited oil-equipment fortune.Helfenstein, Josef ...

, he established the

Menil Collection The Menil Collection, located in Houston, Texas, refers either to a museum that houses the art collection of founders John de Menil and Dominique de Menil, or to the collection itself of approximately 17,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawing ...

, a free museum designed by

Renzo Piano Renzo Piano (; born 14 September 1937) is an Italian architect. His notable buildings include the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (with Richard Rogers, 1977), The Shard in London (2012), the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City (20 ...

and built in 1986 to preserve and exhibit their world-class contemporary art collection.

Life

De Ménil was born Baron Jean Marie Joseph Menu de Ménil in Paris. After emigrating to the United States during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he began using the name 'John Menu de Ménil' which is an anglicized version of 'Jean Menu de Ménil'. Over time he stopped using the 'Menu' portion of his surname and began using shortened forms of the surname such as 'de Ménil' or 'Deménil'. John's children also usually spell their surname as 'de Ménil' (sometimes they use the form 'Deménil'). After becoming a U. S. citizen in 1962, de Ménil officially changed his first name from 'Jean' to 'John'. De Ménil was a son of Baron Georges-Auguste-Emmanuel Menu de Ménil (April 20, 1863 – 1947) and Marie-Madeleine Rougier (1866 – 1929). The Menu de Ménil family was a French

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

family, many of whose men had been officers in the French military. The title of Baron, which de Ménil inherited from his father, had been bestowed on John's great-great-grandfather Paul-Alexis-Joseph Menu de Ménil (July 17, 1764 – December 30, 1834) on September 11, 1813 by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

Bonaparte – thus making him a 'baron de l'empire'.John and Dominique de Menil in Depth
In the 1920s de Ménil earned a degree in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from Sciences Po (Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris) and a degree in law from the Faculté de droit de l'

Université de Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

. In 1930, de Ménil met French heiress Dominique Schlumberger, whom he married on May 9, 1931.John Russell
"Dominique de Menil, 89, Dies; Collector and Philanthropist,"
''The New York Times''. January 1, 1998. They had five children. Although the full surname of these children actually is 'Menu de Ménil', in practice they all use the shortened anglicized spelling 'de Ménil' (or sometimes 'Deménil') instead, so that is what is given here: (1) Christophe (Marie Christophe de Ménil) (born 1933) – The first wife of Buddhist scholar

Robert Thurman Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman (born August 3, 1941) is an American Buddhist author and academic who has written, edited, and translated several books on Tibetan Buddhism. He was the Je Tsongkhapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at ...

(they married in 1960), and the grandmother of artist

Dash Snow Dashiell A. Snow (July 27, 1981 – July 13, 2009) was an American artist based in New York City.Roberta Smith"Dash Snow, New York Artist, Dies at 27" ''The New York Times'', July 14, 2009. Snow's photographs included scenes of sex, drugs, viole ...

. (2) Adelaide (Louise Adélaïde de Ménil) (born 1935) – A photographer who was the third wife of anthropologist

Edmund Snow Carpenter Edmund "Ted" Snow Carpenter (September 2, 1922 – July 1, 2011) was an American anthropologist best known for his work on tribal art and visual media. Early life Born in Rochester, New York to the artist and educator Fletcher Hawthorne Carpent ...

. (3) Georges (Georges François Conrad de Ménil) (aka George de Menil) (born December 4, 1940) – An economist who is married to historian Lois Ames Pattison (born May 15, 1938). Georges and Lois were married on August 3, 1968. (4) François (François Conrad Thomas de Ménil) (born April 12, 1945) – A filmmaker and architect. He married Susan Kadin Silver (born May 8, 1958) on January 18, 1985 in Harris County, Texas. (5) Philippa (Anne Caroline Philippa de Ménil) (born June 13, 1947) – A co-founder of the

Dia Art Foundation Dia Art Foundation is a nonprofit organization that initiates, supports, presents, and preserves art projects. It was established in 1974 by Philippa de Menil, the daughter of Houston arts patron Dominique de Ménil, Dominique de Menil and an h ...

.Glueck, Grace
“The de Menil Family: The Medici of Modern Art.”
''New York Times Magazine'', May 18, 1986: 28–46, 66, 106, 113. Her first husband (whom she married on May 14, 1969, in Harris County, Texas) was Italian anthropologist Francesco Pellizzi (born July 14, 1940). Her second husband (whom she married in 1978) was visionary German art dealer

Heiner Friedrich Heiner Friedrich (born April 14, 1938 in Stettin) is an art dealer and collector of minimal art and conceptual art.Banque Nationale pour le Commerce et l'Industrie'' in Paris. Following the outbreak of

and the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

occupation of France, the de Ménils emigrated from Paris to the United States. They maintained residences in New York City and France but settled in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, Texas, where de Ménil would eventually become president of Schlumberger Overseas (Middle and Far East) and Schlumberger Surenco (Latin America), two branches of the Houston-based oilfield services corporation.

Building an art collection

John and Dominique de Ménil began collecting art intensively in the 1940s, beginning with a purchase of

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...

's 1895 painting ''Montagne'' (''Mountain'') in 1945. The de Ménils' Catholic faith, especially their interest in Father Yves Marie Joseph Congar's teachings on

ecumenism Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

, would become crucial in the development of their collecting ethos in the coming decades. With the guidance of the Dominican priest Marie-Alain Couturier, who introduced the de Ménils to the work of artists in galleries and museums in New York, they became interested in the intersection of

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...

and

spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape o ...

. They ultimately amassed more than 17,000 paintings, sculptures, decorative objects, prints, drawings, photographs, and rare books.''La rime et la raison: Les collections Ménil (Houston–New York).'' Exhibition catalogue. Paris: Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, 1984. The de Ménils were particularly interested in modern European art, and a core strength of the collection was the many

Cubist Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

Surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

, and other

Modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

works they acquired. By the 1960s the de Menils had gravitated toward the major American

post-war In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...

movements of

Abstract expressionism Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...

, Pop art, and

Minimalism In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...

.''The Menil Collection: A Selection from the Paleolithic to the Modern Era.'' New York: Abrams, 1987. Rev. ed., 1997. Over the years the family enjoyed close personal friendships with many of the artists whose work they collected, including

Victor Brauner Victor Brauner (, also spelled Viktor Brauner; 15 June 1903 – 12 March 1966) was a Romanian painter and sculptor of the surrealist movement. Early life He was born in Piatra Neamț, Romania, the son of a Jewish timber manufacturer who subseque ...

Max Ernst Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German (naturalised American in 1948 and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealism ...

Jasper Johns Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker whose work is associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and pop art. He is well known for his depictions of the American flag and other US-related top ...

Yves Klein Yves Klein (; 28 April 1928 – 6 June 1962) was a French artist and an important figure in post-war European art. He was a leading member of the French artistic movement of Nouveau réalisme founded in 1960 by art critic Pierre Restany. Klein w ...

René Magritte René François Ghislain Magritte (; 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist known for his depictions of familiar objects in unfamiliar, unexpected contexts, which often provoked questions about the nature and bounda ...

Robert Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combines (1954–1964), a group of artwor ...

Dorothea Tanning Dorothea Margaret Tanning (25 August 1910 – 31 January 2012) was an American painter, printmaker, sculptor, writer, and poet. Her early work was influenced by Surrealism. Biography Dorothea Tanning was born and raised in Galesburg, Illin ...

, and

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

. The de Ménils, however, did not limit their acquisitions to modern art, and their eclectic tastes became a hallmark of their collecting practices. As modernists, they recognized the profound formal and spiritual connections between

contemporary works of art Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

and the arts of ancient and indigenous cultures, broadening their collection to include works from classical

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

cultures, as well as objects from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, Oceania, and the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

.Van Dyke, Kristina. ''African Art from The Menil Collection.'' Houston: Menil Foundation; New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2008. Influenced by the teachings of Father Couturier and Father Congar, the de Menils developed a particular

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

ethos in which they understood art as a central part of the human experience. Their collection was motivated by their shared interest in the many ways individuals over different cultures and eras reveal through art their understanding of what it means to be human. Plans to create a museum to house and exhibit the collection began as early as 1972, when the de Menils asked the architect

Louis I. Kahn Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky; – March 17, 1974) was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. Whi ...

to design a museum campus on Menil Foundation property in the Montrose neighborhood of Houston near the Rothko Chapel. Kahn did produce some preliminary drawings, but the project was suspended in 1973 after de Menil's and Kahn's deaths less than a year apart.Elliott, Clare. ''The Menil Collection: Art Spaces.'' London: Scala; Houston: Menil Foundation, Inc., 2007. The de Menils' vision was finally realized in 1987 with the opening of the

, designed by renowned Italian architect

Patron of the arts

After moving to Houston, the de Menils quickly became key figures in the city's developing cultural life as advocates of modern art and architecture, recognizing that the city lacked a substantial arts community.de Menil, John. "A Provincial Town." In ''Houston: Text by Houstonians'', 127–29. Marrero, La.: Hope Haven Press, 1949. Responding to a friend's observation that Houston was a cultural desert, de Menil is said to have quipped, "It's in the desert that miracles happen."Colacello, Bob
"Remains of the Dia,"
''Vanity Fair''. September 1996. During his lifetime he was a member of the board of directors or a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...

of the

Amon Carter Museum Amon may refer to: Mythology * Amun, an Ancient Egyptian deity, also known as Amon and Amon-Ra * Aamon, a Goetic demon People Momonym * Amon of Judah ( 664– 640 BC), king of Judah Given name * Amon G. Carter (1879–1955), American pu ...

, the

American Federation of Arts The American Federation of Arts (AFA) is a nonprofit organization that creates art exhibitions for presentation in museums around the world, publishes exhibition catalogues, and develops education programs. The organization’s founding in 1909 w ...

Committee, the

Contemporary Arts Museum Houston Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is a not-for-profit institution in the Museum District, Houston, Texas, founded in 1948, dedicated to presenting contemporary art to the public. As a non-collecting museum, it strives to provide a forum for visual ...

, the

Institute of International Education The Institute of International Education (IIE) is a 501(c) organization which focuses on international student exchange and aid, foreign affairs, and international peace and security. IIE creates programs of study and training for students, educa ...

, the

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. With the recent completion of an eight-year campus redevelopment project, including the opening of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Build ...

, and the Museum of Primitive Art. He also served on the International Council and board of trustees of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

in New York. In 1949 John and Dominique de Menil commissioned the architect

Philip Johnson Philip Cortelyou Johnson (July 8, 1906 – January 25, 2005) was an American architect best known for his works of modern and postmodern architecture. Among his best-known designs are his modernist Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut; the pos ...

to design their home in the

River Oaks River Oaks is a residential community located in the center of Houston, Texas, United States. Located within the 610 Loop and between Downtown and Uptown, the community spans .Archive Established in the 1920s by brothers Will Hogg and Michael ...

neighborhood in Houston. One of the first International style residences in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, it generated controversy not only by standing out amongst the mansions of River Oaks but also by pairing Johnson's clean,

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

lines with a bold color palette and eclectic interior design by

Charles James Charles James may refer to: * Charles James (British Army officer) (1757/8–1821), English army officer and writer * Charles James (attorney) (born 1954), former U.S. assistant attorney general * Charles James (American football) (born 1990), Amer ...

.Middleton, William
“A House That Rattled Texas Windows.”
''The New York Times'', June 3, 2004. The de Menils filled their home with art and hosted many of the leading artists, scientists, civil rights activists, and intellectuals of the day. In the 1950s and 1960s, the de Menils promoted modern art in Houston through exhibitions held at the Contemporary Arts Association (later the

), such as Max Ernst's first solo exhibition in the United States, and the

, to which they gave important gifts of art.Brennan, Marcia, Alfred Pacquement, and Ann Temkin. ''A Modern Patronage: de Menil Gifts to American and European Museums''. Introduction by Josef Helfenstein. Houston: Menil Foundation; New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2007. They were instrumental in the Contemporary Arts Association's decision to hire Jermayne MacAgy as its director, who curated several groundbreaking exhibitions, including "The Sphere of Mondrian" and "Totems Not Taboo: An Exhibition of Primitive Art."''Jermayne MacAgy: A Life Illustrated by an Exhibition.'' Exhibition catalogue. Houston: University of St. Thomas, 1968. In 1954 they founded the Menil Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the "support and advancement of religious, charitable, literary, scientific and educational purposes."Menil Foundation – Handbook of Texas Online
Retrieved May 18, 2010. That same year they provided the

University of St. Thomas St. Thomas University or University of St. Thomas may refer to: *Saint Thomas Aquinas University, Colombia *Saint Thomas Aquinas University of the North, Tucumán province, Argentina *St. Thomas University (Canada), Fredericton, New Brunswick *St. ...

, a small Catholic institution in Houston, with funding to build Strake Hall and Jones Hall, designed by Philip Johnson per their recommendation. In an effort to provide a strong art history curriculum in Houston for students and adults, they founded the Art Department at the University of St. Thomas in 1959, inviting Jermayne MacAgy to teach courses and curate exhibitions held at Jones Hall. They established the university's Media Center in 1967. The de Menils often personally recruited faculty members for the departments and brought many renowned artists and art historians to Houston, including

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...

Roberto Matta Roberto Sebastián Antonio Matta Echaurren (; November 11, 1911 – November 23, 2002), better known as Roberto Matta, was one of Chile's best-known painters and a seminal figure in 20th century abstract expressionist and surrealist art. Bio ...

, and

James Johnson Sweeney James Johnson Sweeney (1900–1986) was an American curator, and writer about modern art. Sweeney graduated from Georgetown University in 1922. From 1935 to 1946, he was curator for the Museum of Modern Art. He was the second director of the Solom ...

, whom they convinced to serve as museum director for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston from 1961 to 1967. In 1969 the de Menils moved the Art Department—including the art history faculty—and Media Center to

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

, where they founded the Institute for the Arts to manage the exhibition program at Rice Museum. Notable exhibitions at Rice Museum organized with the help of the de Menils were "The Machine as Seen at the End of the Mechanical Age," curated by

Pontus Hulten Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...

for the

Museum of Modern Art, New York The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, ...

, and "Raid the Icebox 1 with

," an exhibition of objects selected by Warhol from the storage vaults of the Museum of Art at

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

. At Rice John and Dominique de Menil also cultivated their interest in film; John de Menil was particularly interested in film as a tool for political and social activism in developing nations. They worked with such noted filmmakers as

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...

, who made several trips to Houston to teach Rice University students and create television documentaries.Hugetz, Edward, and Brian Huberman. "The Memory of Rossellini in Texas." In ''Roberto Rossellini'', 107–15. Rome: Edizione Ente Autonomo Gestione Cinema, 1987. Published by the Ministero del Turismo e della Spettacolo for the multimedia project "Rossellini in Texas," October 1987. Other filmmakers who visited the Media Center included

Ola Balogun Ola Balogun (born 1 August 1945) is a Nigerian filmmaker and scriptwriter. He also ventured into the Nigerian music industry in 2001. Balogun, who has been making films for more than three decades, is part of the first generation of Nigerian filmm ...

Bernardo Bertolucci Bernardo Bertolucci (; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved international ...

James Blue James Blue (October 10, 1930 in Tulsa, Oklahoma – June 14, 1980 in Buffalo, New York) was a filmmaker. His most notable films were ''Les oliviers de la justice'' (literal English title ''The Olive Trees of Justice'') (1962, US), ''A Few Notes ...

Jim McBride Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim ...

, and

Colin Young Colin Young (born 12 September 1944, Barbados) is a singer known for being a member of the British soul band the Foundations. Biography In the mid-1960s, Young came to England for a holiday with his father and decided to stay. He was a former ...

. John and Dominique de Menil also shared an interest in photography, inviting photographers to come to Houston to document events in the city and exhibit their work. They commissioned

Henri Cartier-Bresson Henri Cartier-Bresson (; 22 August 1908 – 3 August 2004) was a French humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street photography, and viewed photography as cap ...

to photograph the 1957

convention, held in Houston that year, and worked with photographers such as Frederick Baldwin and

Wendy Watriss Wendy Watriss (born 1943) is an American photographer, curator, journalist, and writer. Background Watriss was born in San Francisco and spent most of her childhood between the East Coast of the United States and Europe. She studied English a ...

, who went on to establish FotoFest, and Geoff Winningham, who served as head of the Photography Department at Rice Media Center. Photography became an important component of the collection, which includes works by

Eve Arnold Eve Arnold, OBE (honorary), FRPS (honorary) (née Cohen; April 21, 1912January 4, 2012) was an American photojournalist, long-resident in the UK. She joined Magnum Photos agency in 1951, and became a full member in 1957. She was the first woma ...

Danny Lyon Danny Lyon (born March 16, 1942) is an American photographer and filmmaker. All of Lyon's publications work in the style of photographic New Journalism, meaning that the photographer has become immersed in with, and is a participant of, the doc ...

Hans Namuth Hans Namuth (March 17, 1915 – October 13, 1990) was a German-born photographer. Namuth specialized in portraiture, photographing many artists, including abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock. His photos of Pollock at work in his studio increa ...

, and Eve Sonneman.

Civil rights

In addition to becoming known as collectors and patrons of art, John and Dominique de Menil were vocal champions of human rights worldwide. Their actions in Houston focused on the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

in particular. In 1960 they launched the ambitious scholarly research project "The Image of the Black in Western Art," directed by art historian Ladislas Bugner. An ongoing project that seeks to catalogue and study the depiction of individuals of African descent in Western art, it is now under the aegis of

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

.Bugner, Ladislas, ed. ''The Image of the Black in Western Art''. 4 vols. New York: William Morrow; Houston: Menil Foundation, 1976 to present. After Dominique de Menil's death the photographs and books assembled to support this research were donated to the

Warburg Institute The Warburg Institute is a research institution associated with the University of London in central London, England. A member of the School of Advanced Study, its focus is the study of cultural history and the role of images in culture – cros ...

in the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. De Menil also provided funding for Houston non-profit organizations such as SHAPE (Self-Help for African People Through Education). The de Menils also organized exhibitions that promoted human and civil rights, including '' The De Luxe Show'', a 1971 exhibition of contemporary art held in Houston's Fifth Ward, a historically African-American neighborhood. Coordinated by civil rights activist and later

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Mickey Leland George Thomas "Mickey" Leland III (November 27, 1944 – August 7, 1989) was an anti-poverty activist who later became a congressman from the Texas 18th District and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. He was a Democrat. Early years Leland w ...

, it was one of the first racially-integrated art shows in the United States.Butterfield, Jan. "The Deluxe Show." ''Texas Observer'', September 24, 1971. Their most controversial action on behalf of civil rights was their offer of

Barnett Newman Barnett Newman (January 29, 1905 – July 4, 1970) was an American artist. He has been critically regarded as one of the major figures of abstract expressionism, and one of the foremost color field painters. His paintings explore the sense o ...

's ''

Broken Obelisk ''Broken Obelisk'' is a sculpture designed by Barnett Newman between 1963 and 1967. Fabricated from three tons of Cor-Ten steel, which acquires a rust-colored patina, it is the largest and best known of his six sculptures. Four multiples o ...

'' as a partial gift to the city of Houston in 1969, on the condition that it be dedicated to the recently assassinated Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

Richard, Paul. "Why Not Dedicate Art to King, De Menil Asks City Council." ''Houston Chronicle'', August 20, 1969. The city refused the gift, sparking a controversial debateRichard, Paul. "Woe Follows the Obelisk." ''The Washington Post'', August 25, 1969. that involved de Menil proposing that the sculpture be inscribed with the

Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

quote "Forgive them for they know not what they do.""Sculpture Acceptable to City—but Quote?" ''Houston Post'', May 29, 1969. Ultimately the de Menils purchased the sculpture themselves and decided to place it in front of the newly completed

Rothko Chapel The Rothko Chapel is a wiktionary:nondenominational, non-denominational chapel in Houston, Texas, founded by John de Ménil, John and Dominique de Menil. The interior serves not only as a chapel, but also as a major work of modern art: on its wal ...

.Hobdy, D. J. "Institute of Religion Accepts Controversial 'Broken Obelisk.'" ''Houston Chronicle'', August 26, 1969. The de Menils had originally made plans to build the Rothko Chapel in 1964 when

Mark Rothko Mark Rothko (), born Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz (russian: Ма́ркус Я́ковлевич Ротко́вич, link=no, lv, Markuss Rotkovičs, link=no; name not Anglicized until 1940; September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970), was a Latv ...

was commissioned to produce a suite of meditative paintings for a chapel intended as a space of dialogue and reflection between faiths. After undergoing revisions by several architects, including

, Howard Barnstone, and

Eugene Aubry Eugene Edwards Aubry (born November 15, 1935) is an American architect, based primarily in Houston, Texas and later in Orlando, Florida.Stephen Fox and Eugene Aubry''Born on the Island: The Galveston We Remember'' Texas A&M University Press, 201 ...

, the non-denominational

was dedicated on Menil Foundation property in 1971 in a ceremony that included members of various religions.Barnes, Susan J. ''The Rothko Chapel: An Act of Faith.'' Houston: Rothko Chapel, 1989. It was established as an autonomous organization the next year and began hosting colloquia, beginning with "Traditional Modes of Contemplation and Action," which brought together religious leaders, scholars, and musicians from four continents.Ibish, Yusuf, and Peter Lamborn Wilson, eds. ''Traditional Modes of Contemplation and Action.'' Tehran: Imperial Iranian Academy of Philosophy, 1977. It continues to host events focusing on inter-faith dialogue and human rights.

References

External links

The Menil Collection

The Rothko Chapel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Menil, John 1973 deaths American philanthropists American art collectors Museum founders 1904 births Businesspeople from Paris French Roman Catholics French emigrants to the United States American Roman Catholics 20th-century Roman Catholics

Life

Building an art collection

Patron of the arts

Civil rights

See also

References

External links