The Menil Collection FY23 Annual Report

The Menil Collection Annual Report

Letter from the Director

We are pleased to share this annual report highlighting the notable events that took place across the Menil Collection’s neighborhood of art during Fiscal Year 2023 (July 1, 2022–June 30, 2023).

In December of 2022, we celebrated the 35th anniversary of this wonderful museum with a themed gala. I am grateful to everyone who supported this major fundraising effort—especially to co-chairs Cindy and David Fitch and Linda and George Kelly—and to the Menil Collection’s staff, who went above and beyond to create a memorable and successful event.

We are particularly proud of the wide-ranging art installations and exhibitions that were presented during this fiscal year. In August 2022, the Menil opened Samuel Fosso: African Spirits in conjunction with the 2022 FotoFest Biennial. In October, Walter De Maria: Boxes for Meaningless Work surveyed the artist’s more than fifty-year-long career, with work drawn primarily from the Menil’s permanent collection; many pieces in this critically acclaimed show had never before been exhibited. The following month, with the support of the Dedalus Foundation, the Menil Drawing Institute presented Robert Motherwell Drawing: As Fast as the Mind Itself. The exhibition was accompanied by a catalogue, the fifth in the Menil Drawing Institute’s publication series.

In February 2023, Art of the Cameroon Grassfields, A Living Heritage in Houston—with both historical and contemporary works— debuted with a public celebration to which the expatriate Cameroonian community in Houston was invited. In March, the Menil celebrated the legacy of the museum’s first director with The Curatorial Imagination of Walter Hopps. The accompanying publication, Artists We’ve Known: Selected Works from the Walter Hopps and Caroline Huber Collection, highlighted fifty-two gifts and promised gifts from the couple’s personal collection, many of which were on view in the show. In April, the Menil opened two simultaneous exhibitions at the Drawing Institute: Si Lewen: The Parade presented a powerful wordless narrative addressing the endless cycle of war, and Hyperreal: Gray Foy featured remarkably detailed drawings by an extremely talented yet under-recognized artist. And in June, just before the close of the fiscal year, the galleries on the west side of the main building reopened with Longing, Grief, and Spirituality: Art Since 1980. With the exception of Mel Chin’s monumental sculpture Our Strange Flower of Democracy, 2005, all of the work in that presentation was drawn from the Menil’s holdings. During this period, the Menil also introduced Wall Drawing Series: Mel Bochner at

Artist Mel Chin; Director Rebecca Rabinow. Photo: Daniel Ortiz

the Menil Drawing Institute; “Eyes from the Collection” and “Work Related to Art Has Many Facets” in the main building’s hallway gallery and highlighted works by Mildred Thompson and Takis and Suzan Frecon in the main building’s foyer.

Whenever possible, the museum organizes public Artist Talks with artists who have work on display. During Cameroonian artist Hervé Youmbi’s six-week stay on the Menil campus, he participated in not only a public talk but also a Member Noontime Talk and tours for classes from Texas State University. Other artists who gave talks at the museum during FY2023 include Larry Bell, Mel Bochner, Phong Bui, Mel Chin, Samuel Fosso, Joseph Havel, George Herms, Terrell James, Robert Longo, Angel Otero, Ed Ruscha, and Art Spiegelman.

Some of these Artist Talks were organized by the Menil’s new Manager of Public Programs, Mary Magsamen, an artist herself, who previously served as curator at Aurora Picture Show. Other new senior staff members include Cory Rogge, Ph.D., Director of Conservation, who, from 2013 to 2023, served as the Andrew W. Mellon Research Scientist at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Menil; and Chris Dague, the museum’s new Director of Information Technology.

The Menil Collection staff, in every department and at every level, did exceptional work over the course of the year. It would be appropriate to single out any group, from Exhibition Design to Finance, Rights and Reproduction to Registration. However, the Facilities team, led by Wesley Haines, Director of Facilities, deserves particular praise for their handling of multiple issues related to the extraordinary drought and summer heat. All employees are respected and valued at the museum, and it is our strong belief that a full-time employee at the Menil, at the very least, should earn a living wage and have access to excellent benefits. The federal minimum wage and Texas state minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour, an amount that has not increased since 2009. During FY2023, the Menil raised its minimum wage from $15.00 to $17.00 per hour to better align with the cost of living as indicated by the MIT Living Wage calculator.

I am grateful for the continued dedication and support of our staff, members, patrons, sponsors, and Board of Trustees, led by President Doug Lawing. I am inspired by you all and proud to be a part of this institution furthering the de Menil’s mission of making art accessible to all.

Sincerely,

Rebecca Rabinow

The Menil Collection’s 35th Anniversary Gala

Cirque Surréaliste, the Menil’s 35th anniversary gala, raised $2,585,000, which directly benefits the museum’s operations and ensures that the Menil’s galleries, programs, and green spaces remain free and open to the public.

On December 3, 2022, more than 500 guests, including co-chairs Cindy and David Fitch and Linda and George Kelly, were welcomed by entertainers to a grand tent on the Menil’s south lawn. The decor, which featured oversized vintage French circus posters, lush flowers, and an array of performers, was inspired by the museum’s world-renowned collection of Surrealist art, including Alexander Calder’s Two Acrobats, 1929, and Fernand Léger’s Study for the Grand Parade, 1953–54.

The Menil Collection

Co-chairs David and Cindy Fitch; co-chairs Linda and George Kelly

Photos: Jenny Antill and Daniel Ortiz

Amy Ryan; Hilda Curran; Lindsay Holstead

Francois and Susan de Menil

Janet Hobby; Louise Stude Sarofim; Paul Hobby

Jerome and Saundria Gray; Alison Leland and Greg Campbell

Rick Lowe; Suzanne Deal Booth; Nestor Topchy

Mission Statement

The Menil Collection is committed to its founders’ belief that art is essential to the human experience. Set in a residential Houston neighborhood, the Menil fosters direct, personal encounters with works of art and welcomes all visitors free of charge to its museum buildings and surrounding green spaces.

Values Statement

The Menil’s institutional culture and actions are guided by the following core values:

Inclusivity We are committed to being equitable, inclusive, and welcoming to all people.

Integrity We strive toward transparency and accountability, and we actively work to combat bias and racism in all of our practices, interactions, and activities.

Empathy We are a small staff who work closely together. We listen to different points of view and are committed to acting with kindness, respect, and understanding toward one another.

Excellence We uphold the highest professional standards. We consistently strive to innovate those standards and exceed expectations.

Intellectual Curiosity Guided by our founders’ vision, we are committed to being socially and culturally aware, to pursuing new and challenging ideas, and to advancing new scholarship and new perspectives.

Community We aim to contribute to the cultural vibrancy of our diverse community by being a site for learning, sharing, and the free exchange of ideas. We are a thoughtful and active member of the Montrose and greater Houston community; we are a good neighbor and responsible partner.

Diversity and Inclusion Statement

Firm in the belief that art is essential to human experience, the Menil Collection remains free to all, always. From their philanthropic vision to their work with artists, our founders sought to combat prejudice and champion social justice. This legacy lives on in our work and mission, to which diversity, inclusion, and equitable representation are fundamental.

True commitment to diversity and inclusion is an active process; we are dedicated to the work of listening, learning, and taking action that this ongoing commitment necessitates. It is our responsibility to reflect the diversity of our community, from our galleries and programming to our offices and green spaces. At the Menil, you are included, welcomed, and needed.

Board of Trustees

Louisa Stude Sarofim, Chair Emerita

Janet M. Hobby, Chair

Doug Lawing, President

Mark Wawro, Vice President

James W. Stewart, Jr., Treasurer

Michael Zilkha, Secretary

Nancy Abendshein

Eddie R. Allen III

Suzanne Deal Booth

Clare T. Casademont

Hilda Curran

David Fitch Aziz Friedrich

Menil Council

Henrietta K. Alexander

Chinhui Juhn Allen

Kristen Berger

Sara Cain

Michael D. Cannon

Stephanie Cockrell

Caroline Finkelstein

Russell Hawkins

I. H. Kempner III

Marley Lott

Ransom Lummis

Poppi Massey

Nancy M. Manne

Catherine Masterson

David C. Moriniere

John C. Moriniere

Cullen K. Muse

Founding Benefactors

Sylvie and Eric Boissonnas

The Brown Foundation, Inc.

Edmund and Adelaide de Menil Carpenter

The Cullen Foundation

Margaret W. and J. A. Elkins, Jr.

The Charles Englehard Foundation

Fariha and Heiner Friedrich

Hobby Foundation

Houston Endowment Inc.

Caroline Weiss Law

Elizabeth Glassman

Barbara Goot-Gamson

Cecily Horton

Caroline Huber

George Kelly

Dillon Kyle

Janie C. Lee

Alison Leland

Isabel Lummis

Francois de Menil

Clémence Molin

Franci Neely

Anaeze Offodile

Marilyn Oshman

William E. Pritchard III

David Ruiz

Leslie Elkins Sasser

Anne Schlumberger

Miles Glaser (1925–2004), Trustee Emeritus

Carol Neuberger

Judy Nyquist

Francesco Pellizzi

Jessica Phifer

Harry C. Pinson

Mary Hammon Quinn

Raquel Segal

Paul Seifert

Kelly R. Silvers

Reggie R. Smith

Aliyya Stude

Patrick G. Wade

Morris A. Weiner

Lea Weingarten

William H. White

Barry Young

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Dominique de Menil

Susan and Francois de Menil

Annalee G. Newman

Susan E. and Roy S. O’Connor

Fayez Sarofim & Co.

Louisa Stude Sarofim

Scaler Foundation, Inc.

Annette Schlumberger

The Wortham Foundation

Exhibitions

Samuel Fosso: African Spirits August 5, 2022–January 15, 2023

Samuel Fosso: African Spirits presented the artist’s fourteen gelatin silver photographs from the African Spirits series in conjunction with the 2022 FotoFest Biennial and African Cosmologies Redux. Samuel Fosso’s (b. 1962) large-scale and exquisitely detailed images are “self-portraits” in which he embodies prominent leaders of Black liberation movements during the 20th century. Several of the subjects may be readily recognizable to American audiences: Muhammad Ali, Angela Davis, Miles Davis, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela, and Tommie Smith. Other photographs reference official portraits or reinvent historical representations of independence-era African presidents and intellectuals including Aimé Césaire, Patrice Lumumba, Kwame Nkrumah, Haile Selassie, and Léopold Sédar Senghor.

The works are based on iconic photographs from transformational moments in the lives of these individuals, such as the police mugshot taken of Dr. King after his arrest during the 1956 bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. For Fosso, who has described the series as an homage to those who gave him freedom, this collection of personages represents the connective tissue between Africa and the United States in the struggles for social justice and freedom.

“As everyone knows, the Menil Collection is a historical museum regarding Black and African History,” said Fosso during his visit to Houston. “It’s very important for me to be at the Menil Collection. It’s one of the most important ways for me to better share my ideas about African Spirits.”

Born in Cameroon, Fosso lived in Nigeria until the NigeriaBiafra War (1967–70), when he moved to Bangui, the capital city of the Central African Republic. There, he apprenticed with a local studio photographer, and in 1975, Fosso opened his own commercial portrait studio when he was just thirteen years old. He would routinely finish off unused rolls of film by taking self-portraits that he displayed to promote his studio or sent to his family. Fosso quickly gained international recognition after the first exhibition of his photographs at the inaugural Rencontres Africaines de la Photographie in Bamako, Mali, in 1994. His work can now be found in several museum collections, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Tate Modern.

Samuel Fosso: African Spirits was curated by Paul R. Davis, Curator of Collections, The Menil Collection.

Major funding for this exhibition was provided by The Eleanor and Frank Freed Foundation. Additional support came from Anne Levy Charitable Trust; Mark Wawro and Melanie Gray; Franci Neely; and the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.

Samuel Fosso, Nelson Mandela , from the series African Spirits, 2008. Gelatin silver print, 64 × 48 in. (162.6 × 121.9 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Jean Marc Patras, Paris. © Samuel Fosso

Wall Drawing Series: Mel Bochner

October 20, 2022–August 27, 2023

The Menil Drawing Institute presented the fourth in an ongoing series of ephemeral, site-specific wall drawings with Conceptual artist Mel Bochner’s (b. 1940) Smudge, 1968/2022. The drawing was created using blue raw pigment—dry carpenter’s chalk—rubbed directly onto the wall and roughly traced by the arc of Bochner’s arm’s reach. This delicate, airy, and thought-provoking piece challenged traditional ideas of what drawing is and is now considered to have shaped his career when he first completed it in 1968.

Bochner has been at the forefront of Conceptual art since the 1960s and has played a pioneering role in redefining the traditional boundaries of drawing. Emerging at a time when painting was increasingly questioned, Bochner was part of a generation of artists, including Eva Hesse and Donald Judd, that sought to break with Abstract Expressionism. In 1966, after becoming a teacher at the School of Visual Arts in New York, he mounted his first show, Working Drawings and Other Visible Things on Paper Not Necessarily Meant to Be Viewed as Art, which is considered to be the first exhibition of Conceptual art.

In the catalogue for Mel Bochner: Blue Powder Pigment Wall Pieces, shown at Grant Selwyn Fine Art, Los Angeles, in 2000, Bochner described how the earliest pieces he made directly on the wall utilized blue raw pigment. As he rubbed the dry pigment into the wall, “the film of color, inseparable from the wall itself, had no discernable thickness,” Bochner wrote. “It was emphatically visual, yet perceptually dislocated, seeming to float just slightly in front of the spatialized whiteness of the wall.” When asked by the Houston Chronicle what Houstonians would think of Smudge, Bochner said, “I don’t care. I just want them to think.”

Wall Drawing Series: Mel Bochner was curated by Edouard Kopp, Chief Curator, Menil Drawing Institute.

This wall drawing was generously supported by Scott and Judy Nyquist; Elizabeth and Barry Young / UBS Private Wealth; Eddie and Chinhui Allen; and Dillon Kyle and Sam Lasseter.

Installation view of Mel Bochner’s Smudge , 1968/ 2022. Collection of Carla Emil and Rich Silverstein. © Mel Bochner. Photo: Paul Hester

Walter De Maria: Boxes for Meaningless Work

October 29, 2022–April 23, 2023

Walter De Maria: Boxes for Meaningless Work was the first museum survey in the United States of the more than fifty-year-long career of American artist Walter De Maria (1935–2013). The exhibition examined the artist’s sustained exploration of perception, space, the forces of nature, and the concept of the sublime through works from the Menil Collection’s holdings, most of which were recently acquired and had never been publicly displayed.

The exhibition’s title was drawn from De Maria’s concept of “meaningless work.” In the early 1960s, when the artist participated in New York City’s avant-garde music and performance circles, he wanted to make art that drew attention to the importance of experience. He wrote about how arbitrary actions and playful gestures that lacked any productive outcome could enhance the viewer’s engagement. Many of the works in the exhibition instruct the audience to undertake “meaningless” tasks, often involving the movement of balls or the activation of boxes. In the work Ball Drop, 1961/64, a wood ball, released through the top hole, creates a startling crack when it hits the bottom surface. Similarly, the title of Put One Box on Top of Another Box, Wait One Minute, Then Place the Top Box on the Floor, 1961, outlines how the object can be activated. Radically simple in their modest materials and construction, the works in the exhibition embodied the emerging ideas that led to the development of the Minimalism, Conceptualism, and Earth Art movements later in the decade.

Highlighting De Maria’s varied and innovative approaches to media and scale, the exhibition also included a group of conceptual drawings, photography, and sculpture related to the development of the artist’s innovative land art projects of the 1970s, as well as examples of his sound and film work. The penultimate room featured the stainless-steel sculpture Channel Series: Triangle, Circle, Square, 1972, and two monumental paintings from The Statement series, made specifically for the Menil’s 2011 show Walter De Maria: Trilogies. This exhibition was curated by Brad Epley, former Chief Conservator, The Menil Collection, and Michelle White, Senior Curator, The Menil Collection.

Major funding for this exhibition was provided by The Eleanor and Frank Freed Foundation. Additional support came from Suzanne Deal Booth; Clare Casademont and Michael Metz; Hilda Curran; Cindy and David Fitch; Cece and Mack Fowler; Janet and Paul Hobby; John R. Eckel, Jr. Foundation; Susan and Francois de Menil; Susanne and William E. Pritchard III; and the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance. Research for this exhibition was supported by the Terra Foundation for American Art.

Walter De Maria, Put One Box on Top of Another Box, Wait One Minute, Then Place the Top Box on the Floor, 1961. Oil on canvas, wood, and paint, dimensions variable. The Menil Collection, Houston. © The Estate of Walter De Maria. Photo: Robert McKeever

Robert Motherwell Drawing: As Fast as the Mind Itself November 18, 2022–March 12, 2023

Robert Motherwell Drawing: As Fast as the Mind Itself presented the most comprehensive survey of the artist’s drawings ever mounted—104 works spanning the artist’s practice throughout his long career. This exhibition was organized with the support of the Dedalus Foundation, which was established by the artist in 1981, and celebrated the Foundation’s publication of a two-volume, fully illustrated catalogue raisonné of Motherwell’s drawings.

Robert Motherwell (1915–1991) was the youngest and most scholarly of the Abstract Expressionists. He explored a personal, spontaneous practice of mark-making and created drawings employing a wide variety of techniques and styles that he sometimes used concurrently. Inspired by Surrealism and the practice of automatic drawing, Motherwell embraced the suggestive potential of his materials, blending the accidental and the intentional in the creative gesture, whether a stroke of the pen or the brush or a tear of paper. His desire to draw “as fast as the mind itself” was geared toward invention and variation, and while it evolved stylistically, it remained united by thematic continuities.

As Fast as the Mind Itself brought together works from two dozen public and private collections. Motherwell’s early drawings exploring figural structures and abstraction revealed the influence of Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso. Other works in the exhibition included selections from the artist’s breakthrough series the Elegies, as well as illustrations from series in the 1960s, such as the Lyric Suite and the Opens, shining a spotlight on his automatic and spontaneous drawing practice. The later works shifted toward more formal restraint, with pared-down compositions and an almost exclusive use of black, including a few examples from Motherwell’s Drunk with Turpentine series.

In 1952, John and Dominique de Menil visited Motherwell’s studio and later acquired work by him. The museum has continued to collect works by the artist; fourteen drawings included in the exhibition were recent promised gifts, and four drawings were donated to the Menil by the Dedalus Foundation.

Robert Motherwell Drawing: As Fast as the Mind Itself was curated by Edouard Kopp, John R. Eckel, Jr. Foundation Chief Curator, Menil Drawing Institute.

This exhibition was generously underwritten by Kathy and George Britton. Additional support came from Angela and William Cannady; Diane and Michael Cannon; Julie and John Cogan, Jr.; Cindy and David Fitch; Barbara and Michael Gamson; Linda and George Kelly; Dillon Kyle and Sam Lasseter; Janie C. Lee; Mary Hale Lovett McLean; Carol and David Neuberger; Susanne and William E. Pritchard III; Leslie and Shannon Sasser; Mark Wawro and Melanie Gray; Ann and Mathew Wolf Drawing Exhibition Fund; and the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.

Robert Motherwell, Rimbaud Series No. 3 , 1967. Tusche ink on parchment, 14 × 11 in. (35.6 × 27.9 cm).

Maxine and Stuart Frankel Foundation for Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI. © 2024 Dedalus Foundation, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

Art of the Cameroon Grassfields, A Living Heritage in Houston

February 17–July 9, 2023

Art of the Cameroon Grassfields, A Living Heritage in Houston celebrated the enduring artistic traditions from Cameroon and its global diaspora. Presented in two galleries, the works represented the complex layered histories of art from the Grassfields region, a mountainous and verdant area in western and northwestern Cameroon comprised of many kingdoms (chefferies). The exhibition presented more than twenty historical works from Houston-based collections, including the Menil; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and private collections. Highlights included masks, prestige hats, headdresses, royal stools, figural sculptures, and palace architectural elements dating to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the Grassfields, performances of headdresses and masks are essential parts of religious, royal, and public ceremonies, which are the domain of different initiation and regulatory societies. When activated by dance, music, and ceremony, these objects signal the authority of religious and political leaders, powerful nobles, and heads of extended families.

The museum’s garden gallery featured Celestial Thrones (Les Trônes Célestes), 2019, and Bamileke-Duala Nyatti Ku’ngang Mask, 2019, two installations by Douala-based artist Hervé Youmbi (b. 1973). Youmbi’s work engages with the region’s rich artistic heritage, the legacies of colonialism, and the international circulation of historical African art. Bamileke-Duala Nyatti Ku’ngang Mask (pictured) is a multi-component installation from the artist’s open-ended Visages de masques (Faces of Masks) project, which probes the layered histories of the most internationally celebrated and commercialized form of African art—the mask. Youmbi said, “The subject I have dealt with in the context of [Celestial Thrones], it’s a subject that deals with the notion of good governance. But it’s also about, above all, the question of inheritance.”

Art of the Cameroon Grassfields provided an opportunity to engage with Houston organizations such as La Famille Bamiléké de Houston (LAFABAH) and the Cameroon American Community of Houston (CAMCOH), highlighting how the cultural heritage of the Grassfields resonates in our diverse city.

Art of the Cameroon Grassfields, A Living Heritage in Houston was curated by Paul R. Davis, Curator of Collections, The Menil Collection.

Major funding for this exhibition was provided by Franci Neely. Additional support came from Melza and Ted Barr; Mary Hale Lovett McLean; Clare Casademont and Michael Metz; Caroline Huber; and the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.

Installation view of Art of the Cameroon Grassfields: A Living Heritage in Houston, 2019. Photo: Paul Hester

The Curatorial Imagination of Walter Hopps

March 24–August 13, 2023

The impressive fifty-plus-year career of the Menil Collection’s Founding Director, Walter Hopps (1932–2005), provided the framework for The Curatorial Imagination of Walter Hopps, which featured 133 works by seventy artists. Hopps estimated that he curated some 250 exhibitions throughout his life. This presentation explored his influential curatorial vision, distinctive approach to exhibition-making, and his appreciation for a variety of 20th-century art movements.

Artists presented in this exhibition included Larry Bell, Gretchen Bender, Jay DeFeo, William Eggleston, Sam Gilliam, Robert Longo, and Frank Stella, all of whom Hopps discovered early in their careers. The work on display drew upon a range of exhibitions from his early years as cofounder of the Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles to his time as director of the Pasadena Museum of Art and later the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and as curator at the Smithsonian National Collection of Fine Arts, Washington, DC.

At the Menil, Hopps collaborated with Dominique de Menil to design the museum’s building and grow her already impressive collection. He also curated landmark exhibitions of artists Joseph Cornell, Marcel Duchamp, Edward Kienholz, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, and Andy Warhol. Dominique deeply valued his “infallible eye.”

The show celebrated past and promised gifts of more than five hundred works to the museum from trustee Caroline Huber and the Estate of Walter Hopps.

The Curatorial Imagination of Walter Hopps coincided with the publication of Artists We’ve Known: Selected Works from the Walter Hopps and Caroline Huber Collection, which highlights more than fifty works by artists whom the couple admired.

The Curatorial Imagination of Walter Hopps was curated by Clare Elliott, Associate Research Curator, The Menil Collection.

Major funding for this exhibition was provided by Lea Weingarten. Additional support came from Henrietta Alexander; Eddie and Chinhui Allen; Nancy C. Allen; Anne Levy Charitable Trust; Suzanne Deal Booth; Clare Casademont and Michael Metz; Angela and William Cannady; Hilda Curran; Barbara Davis; Janet and Paul Hobby; John R. Eckel, Jr. Foundation; Linda and George Kelly; Mary Hale Lovett McLean; Susan and Francois de Menil; Betty Moody; Carol and David Neuberger; Marilyn Oshman; Leslie and Shannon Sasser; Mark Wawro and Melanie Gray; Leslie Field and Morris Weiner; Nina and Michael Zilkha; and the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.

Joe Goode, Untitled , ca. 1962. Oil paint on canvas, wood, and glass milk bottle, 27 × 25 1/2 × 6 1/4 in. (68.6 × 64.8 × 15.9 cm). The Menil Collection, Houston, Gift of Caroline Huber and the estate of Walter Hopps. © Joe Goode. Photo: Caroline Philippone

Hyperreal: Gray Foy

April 21–September 3, 2023

Hyperreal: Gray Foy was the first solo museum exhibition of the work of American artist Gray Foy (1922–2012). His impressively meticulous and imaginative drawings from the 1940s to the 1970s, often rendered in graphite on paper, were presented in celebration of two gifts of nearly eighty drawings. Hyperreal also included a few select loans from public and private collections.

The exhibition, which spanned the entirety of the artist’s career, opened with Foy’s early works, inspired by Surrealism and influenced by Salvador Dalí. Foy began drawing during World War II while working at a military aircraft plant; he later characterized his approach to drawing as “hyper-realism.” Seeking to transcend visible reality through subjects imagined or devised from memory, his works illustrate complex scenes of human forms and dreamlike states. Foy famously stated in 1948, “Please don’t put me down as a surrealist. I may turn out to be a realist... After all, hyperrealism…actually becomes the supernatural.”

Hyperreal also accentuated Foy’s exacting technique in his later works, which focus on natural motifs. During the early 1950s, he began to explore botanical and ecological subjects with a sense of wonder and inventiveness, shifting away from his previous fascination with human figures.

From the late 1940s through the 1960s, Foy produced an impressive body of commercial work—magazine illustrations, book jackets, and record album covers—a selection of which was on display.

To underscore the elaborate and painstaking detail of Foy’s work which rewards sustained looking, visitors were encouraged to use magnifying glasses provided at the front desk of the Menil Drawing Institute.

Hyperreal: Gray Foy was curated by Kirsten Marples, Curatorial Associate, Menil Drawing Institute.

This exhibition was generously supported by Sheila Noeth and Ted Dohmen; Barbara and Michael Gamson; Caroline Huber; Marley Lott; Curtis & Windham Architects; Nina and Michael Zilkha; and the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.

Gray Foy, Untitled [Interior with Woman Standing at a Dresser], 1946. Graphite on paper, 13 3/4 × 11 in. (34.9 × 27.9 cm). The Menil Collection, Houston, Gift of the estate of Gray Foy. © Estate of Gray Foy. Photo: Caroline Philippone

Si Lewen: The Parade

April 21–September 3, 2023

Si Lewen: The Parade united original drawings that Polish-born artist Si Lewen (1918–2016) made in preparation for his groundbreaking graphic novel about the never-ending cycle of war. For the first time in the United States, all fifty-five original drawings reproduced in the book, along with eight related works, were displayed together. The drawings in Si Lewen: The Parade are owned by the artist’s family, who lent generously to this show.

Raised in Germany, Si Lewen observed the cultural upheaval happening around him. After immigrating to the United States when Hitler came to power, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and joined the elite unit of German-speaking special forces called “The Ritchie Boys.” He was devastated by the atrocities of the Holocaust and transformed his memories into the drawings that became known as The Parade, 1957.

Created as one powerfully moving work of art, Lewen’s wordless book speaks to the seductive glory and pomp of military parades, followed by soldier enlistment, community deprivation, devastation, death, and heartbreak. When the war ends, the cycle repeats. Rooted in World War II and the Holocaust, The Parade begins with scenes of families celebrating the war’s end. The story develops with pictures of children pretending to be soldiers as they are drafted and the resulting death, terror, destruction, and imprisonment that follow. Eventually, the story ends just as it begins, with a celebratory parade and waving victory banners.

Lewen’s precise and stark lines incised into the surface of some of the illustration boards emphasize the pain of war. The limited tonal range underscores its bleakness, and Lewen’s application of crayon, ink, and paint becomes deeper as the story evolves. Taken together, the drawings are a technical tour de force of mark-making.

The drawings in the show were accompanied by a copy of the original published book in a separate display case, alongside a short video of an interview that Lewen gave at the end of his life.

Si Lewen: The Parade was curated by Kelly Montana, Assistant Curator, Menil Drawing Institute.

This exhibition was generously supported by Leslie Field and Morris A. Weiner; Jacquelyn Barish; Rice University’s Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance; Barbara and Michael Gamson; Heidi and David Gerger; Caroline Huber; Lois and George Stark; and the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance.

Installation view of Si Lewen, The Parade. © International Institute for Restorative Practices. Photo: Paul Hester

Acquisitions

Walter De Maria

American, 1935–2013

HARD CORE, 1969

Single-channel video, color with sound 28 minutes (1680 seconds)

Jay DeFeo

American, 1929–1989 Untitled (Tripod series), 1975 Acrylic, graphite, and grease pencil with collage and tape on torn paper over vellum and black paper

23 1/4 × 19 5/8 in. (59.1 × 49.8 cm)

Purchased with funds provided by The Buddy Taub Foundation, Dennis A. Roach and Jill Roach Directors

Agnes Denes

American, b. Hungary, 1931

Citadel for the Inner City–The Glass Wall, 1980

Silver ink on vellum

34 1/4 × 192 in. (87 × 487.7 cm)

Purchased with funds provided by the William F. Stern Acquisitions Fund, Suzanne Deal Booth, The Brown Foundation, Inc. / Nancy Abendshein, and Mark Wawro and Melanie Gray

Strength Analysis–A Dictionary of Strength, 1971–81 Lithograph

46/50

Sheet: 23 1/4 × 17 3/8 in. (59.1 × 44.2 cm)

Anonymous gift

Adrian Ghenie

Romanian, active in Berlin, b. 1977 Studio Scene 2 , 2022

Charcoal on paper

Sheet: 25 9/16 × 19 11/16 in. (64.9 × 50 cm)

Purchased with funds provided by an anonymous donor, Barbara and Michael Gamson, and Leslie and Shannon Sasser

Dorothy Hood

American, 1919–2000

Cosmic Eye of the Little Bird , ca. 1970 Ink on paper

19 5/8 × 25 5/8 in. (49.8 × 65.1 cm)

Purchased with funds provided by Leah Bennett, Johanna and Stephen Donson, Frank Hood, Buddy Steves and Rowena Young, and Mary Hale Lovett McLean

Detectives, 20th century Ink on paper

26 × 20 in. (66 × 50.8 cm)

Purchased with funds provided by the John R. Eckel, Jr. Foundation

Richard Howard Hunt

American, 1935–2023

Untitled , 1952 Graphite on paper

13 1/2 × 8 in. (34.3 × 20.3 cm)

Anonymous gift in honor of the artist

Untitled , 1952

Graphite on paper

13 1/2 × 8 in. (34.3 × 20.3 cm)

Anonymous gift in honor of the artist

Ellsworth Kelly

American, 1923–2015

Two Oaks, 1992

Graphite on paper

20 × 36 in. (50.8 × 91.4 cm)

Gift of Jack Shear in honor of the Ellsworth Kelly Centennial

Last Lily, 1995

Graphite on paper

30 × 22 1/2 in. (76.2 × 57.2 cm)

Gift of Jack Shear in honor of the Ellsworth Kelly Centennial

Beanstalk, 1999

Graphite on paper

24 × 19 in. (61 × 48.3 cm)

Gift of Jack Shear in honor of the Ellsworth Kelly Centennial

René Magritte

Belgian, 1898–1967

Eve [recto]; Various Studies [verso], 1946–47

Graphite on paper

Sheet: 8 3/4 × 5 7/8 in. (22.2 × 15 cm)

(visible)

Gift of Ellen Kaim Benninghoven

Robert Motherwell

American, 1915–1991

Untitled, from the Joyce Sketchbook, 1985

Ink, china marker, and graphite on paper

3 × 5 in. (7.6 × 12.7 cm)

Gift of the Dedalus Foundation

Untitled, from the Joyce Sketchbook, 1985

Ink on paper

3 × 5 in. (7.6 × 12.7 cm)

Gift of the Dedalus Foundation

Untitled, from the Joyce Sketchbook, 1985

Ink and china marker on paper

3 × 5 in. (7.6 × 12.7 cm)

Gift of the Dedalus Foundation

Untitled, from the Joyce Sketchbook, 1985

Ink and china marker on paper

3 × 5 in. (7.6 × 12.7 cm)

Ellsworth Kelly, Beanstalk , 1999. Graphite on paper. 24 × 19 in. (61 × 48.3 cm), The Menil Collection, Houston, Gift of Jack Shear in honor of the Ellsworth Kelly Centennial. Photo: Caroline Philippone

Deborah Roberts, Consequences of being , 2022. Mixed media and collage on paper. 30 × 22 in. (76.2 × 55.9 cm), The Menil Collection, Houston, Gift of Clare Casademont and Michael Metz. Photo: Pete Braithwaite

Gift of the Dedalus Foundation

Winfred Rembert

American, 1945–2021

Chain Gang Cotton Picking, 2011

Dye on carved, tooled leather

26 1/2 × 35 in. (67.3 × 88.9 cm)

Frame: 29 × 37 1/2 × 7/8 in. (73.7 × 95.3 × 2.3 cm)

Purchased with funds provided by Suzanne Deal Booth

Deborah Roberts

American, b. 1962

Consequences of being, 2022

Mixed media and collage on paper

30 × 22 in. (76.2 × 55.9 cm)

Gift of Clare Casademont and Michael Metz

Harry Roseman

American, b. 1945

Back of Cornell, 1971

Gelatin silver print

7/25

14 × 11 in. (35.6 × 27.9 cm)

Gift of Katherine Degn and David Flaxman

Kay Sage

American, 1898–1963

Secret Voyage of a Spark, 1944 Oil on canvas

10 1/2 × 13 3/4 in. (26.7 × 34.9 cm)

Purchased with funds provided by an anonymous donor, the John R. Eckel, Jr. Foundation, Cecily Horton, Caroline Huber, and Bill Stewart

Winfred Rembert, Chain Gang Cotton Picking , 2011. Dye on carved, tooled leather. 26 1/2 × 35 in. (67.3 × 88.9 cm), The Menil Collection, Houston. Purchased with funds provided by Suzanne Deal Booth. Photo: James Craven

Kay Sage, Secret Voyage of a Spark , 1944. Oil on canvas. 10 1/2 × 13 3/4 in. (26.7 × 34.9 cm), The Menil Collection, Houston, Purchased with funds provided by an anonymous donor, the John R. Eckel, Jr. Foundation, Cecily Horton, Caroline Huber, and Bill Stewart. Photo: James Craven

Installation view of Robert Motherwell Drawing: As Fast as the Mind Itself. Photo: Paul Hester

Scholarship

176

Robert Motherwell Drawing: As Fast as the Mind Itself

Paper was the favored working surface of Robert Motherwell (1915–1991), and this retrospective survey of the important Abstract Expressionist’s drawings shows how different papers absorbed his inspirations and ideas “as fast as the mind itself.” The book features just over one hundred works, surveys his broad range, and is filled with classic images.

By Edouard Kopp and Robert Motherwell.

Artists We’ve Known: Selected Works from the Walter Hopps and Caroline Huber Collection

This book highlights fifty-two works from Walter Hopps and Caroline Huber’s personal collection given or promised to the Menil. Featuring paintings, photography, drawings, and sculptures, Artists We’ve Known is filled with anecdotes and recollections—many from the artists themselves—about friendships and exchanges with Hopps and Huber, and how particular works came to be in this storied collection.

By Clare

Elliott, with contributions by Mel Chin, Linda Connor, Anne Doran, Terrell James, James R. Magee, Peter Nagy, Margaret Nielsen, and Michelle White.

Chryssa & New York

Chryssa & New York is the first major publication about the artist in more than thirty years. Focusing on the time Chryssa (1933–2013) spent in New York City from the 1950s to the 1970s, the book highlights her sign-, word-, and letter–based works as well as her innovations with neon, culminating in the development of her magnum opus The Gates to Times Square, 1964–66.

Edited by exhibition co-curators Megan Holly Witko and Michelle White, with Sophia Larigakis. Other contributors include Joy Bloser and matt dilling, Lisa Cohen, Jonathan D. Katz, Tiona Nekkia McClodden, Kalliopi Minioudaki, and Tina Rivers Ryan. Co-published with Dia Art Foundation.

Archives

The Menil Archives preserves and provides access to administrative, business, and departmental records of the Menil Foundation and the Menil Collection, as well as exhibition history records, film and media materials, special collections, and the papers of John and Dominique de Menil. Archives stewards institutional records which document the present and past activities of the museum.

In Fiscal Year 2023, Archives fielded 380 internal and external inquiries and hosted 170 on-site research visits.

Also during this year, the Menil Archives acquired the Francis Picabia Catalogue Raisonné archive, which was generously donated by Dr. William A. Camfield, Joseph and Joanna N. Muller Professor of Art History Emeritus at Rice University.

Archival materials were featured prominently in the exhibition Walter De Maria: Boxes for Meaningless Work, on view October 29, 2022–April 23, 2023.

Library

The Menil Collection Library supports the reference, research, and scholarly needs of the museum and outside scholars. The Library added more than 700 new books, periodicals, and digital resources to its collection during Fiscal Year 2023.

Materials from the Library are featured throughout our galleries and included in exhibitions. In FY23, the book Nous Avons by René Char, from the William F. Stern artists’ books collection bequest in memory of his father, Joseph S. Stern, Jr., was installed in the Surrealism galleries, with etchings and aquatints by Joan Miró.

The Library is open by appointment to students, university and college faculty, museum professionals, artists and designers, art historians, arts professionals, and writers.

Installation view of Nous Avons. Photo: Caroline Philippone

2022–23 Fellowships

Each year, the Menil Collection offers fellowships to established scholars and graduate students of art history and conservation at various stages of their careers.

Isabel Bird, 2022–23 Menil Drawing Institute Pre-Doctoral Fellow and Ph.D. Candidate in the History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University, conducted dissertation research related to the role of drawing in 20th-century art practices. Her project investigated the medium’s complex relationship to notions of skill, discipline, and instruction, and set the drawing practices of four artists—Ruth Asawa, Sylvia Plimack Mangold, Adrian Piper, and Sturtevant—against a history of drawing education.

Margaret “Peggy” Holben Ellis, 2023 Menil Drawing Institute Research Fellow and Eugene Thaw Professor Emerita of Paper Conservation at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, organized a workshop at the Drawing Institute on March 7, 2023, entitled “Conveying the Color of Paper.” The goal of her project was to develop a system for describing the wide variety of white papers.

Brian T. Leahy, 2022–23 Morgan-Menil Research Fellow, studied ephemeral materials for his dissertation, “Contemporary Art and Exhibition Media in the United States, 1968–1984,” which investigates the effects of printed exhibition media on American art between the late 1960s and the early 1980s. At his public lecture on June 22, 2023, Leahy discussed how drawing figured into the work of collagist and correspondence artist Ray Johnson.

Abby Schleicher, Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Paper Conservation, was fully integrated into the activities of the paper conservation studio and consulted regularly with visiting scholars and fellows in the Drawing Study Room. She spoke on Robert Motherwell’s drawing practice during the exhibition Study Day and has made presentations to staff and members regarding artist techniques and drawing materials.

The Menil Collection

Brian T. Leahy; Margaret “Peggy” Holben Ellis; Isabel Bird. Photo: Sarah Hobson

Internships

The Menil Collection offers two curatorial internships to undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in the art history departments at Rice University and the University of Houston.

Zoie Buske, University of Houston Intern, conducted primary source research for the exhibition Janet Sobel: All-Over. She also worked with the Menil’s object files to compile a timeline of the museum’s collection of work by René Magritte and researched that artist’s firstever solo exhibition.

Jacqueline Huang, Rice University Intern, researched and catalogued the 18th- and 19th-century moving image devices in A Surrealist Wunderkammer (formerly titled Witnesses to a Surrealist Vision).

Isabel Bird lecture. Photo: Caroline Philippone

Conservation

In May 2023, the Menil welcomed Cory Rogge as the new Director of Conservation. As the Andrew W. Mellon Research Scientist at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Menil from 2013 to 2023, Rogge was involved in the collaboration between the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Menil to investigate Yves Klein’s use of pink and red pigments.

In preparation for the exhibition Chryssa & New York, contract conservator Erin Stephenson carried out transformative treatments of recent acquisitions Composition Bach, ca. late 1950s, and Flight of Birds, 1957–60. Sara Kornhauser, Project Conservator, and Desi Dijkema, Associate Paintings Conservator, continued treatment on Mark Rothko’s The Green Stripe, 1955, as part of the Getty-sponsored Conserving Canvas Project, which concluded in September 2023.

During this past fiscal year, Jan Burandt, Conservator of Works of Art on Paper, interviewed artists Larry Bell, Mel Bochner, Anne Doran, Robert Longo, and Michael Tracy about their individual artworks and the relationships between the artists and their work.

In the fall of 2022, Abby Schleicher joined the department as an Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Paper Conservation. The purpose of these fellowships is to acclimate recently trained conservators to museum settings while they hone their skills. Schleicher treated several drawings by Gray Foy in preparation for the recent exhibition at the Menil Drawing Institute.

The Menil is one of the contributing institutions to the Getty APPEAR (Ancient Panel Paintings: Examination, Analysis, and Research) project. The Conservation team conducted a comprehensive technical examination of the six ancient Romano-Egyptian portraits in the Menil’s collection. Rogge was invited to present a portion of that research at a conference in Amsterdam in the fall of 2022. A related publication is forthcoming.

Many sculptures included in the exhibition Walter De Maria: Boxes for Meaningless Work needed conservation treatment for water damage. In Fiscal Year 2023, Anne Schmid, former Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Paintings Conservation, spent over nine months using an innovative combination of approaches to reduce disfiguring tidelines on the artist’s painting Move Any Ball to Any Open Spot, 1961.

Artists Documentation Program

The Artists Documentation Program (ADP), established in 1990, records and makes publicly available interviews between artists and conservators. The artists are asked about the materials and techniques they use, as well as their wishes for the preservation and presentation of their art.

In Fiscal Year 2023, the Menil Collection and the Whitney Museum of American Art embarked on a year-long review of the program to assess programs goals, archiving procedures, and accessibility. The Menil Collection received funding from the Vivan L. Smith Foundation to hire an ADP archivist to lead project completion of previous interviews and to help transition this rich archive onto new technical platforms that will better integrate into both museums’ systems.

31 Kari Dodson, Objects Conservator, sews beads onto Headdress Representing a Wife of a King (Fon), early–mid 20th century, for display in Art of the Cameroon Grassfields, A Living Heritage in Houston. Photo courtesy of the Menil Collection Conservation Department

Public Programs

The Menil Collection offers a variety of public lectures, conversations, and performances to deepen visitors’ appreciation of the art on view. These programs are free and open to everyone.

During Fiscal Year 2023, the Menil organized fifty-five public programs. Highlights included the second annual Neighborhood Community Day in celebration of the museum’s vibrant neighborhood, complete with art, music, poetry, and family activities. Participating organizations included DACAMERA, Houston Center for Photography (HCP), Inprint, the Menil Collection, Rothko Chapel, Writers in the Schools (WITS), and Watercolor Art Society. The Menil also hosted two photography workshops with HCP, twelve Curator Talks, two Inprint Writing Workouts, eleven lectures, and a special “Day of Meaningless Work” featuring an afternoon of interactive performance in conjunction with the exhibition Walter De Maria: Boxes for Meaningless Work.

The Menil also welcomed eight artists for its Artist Talk series, including Mel Bochner, Samuel Fosso, and Hervé Youmbi. In May 2023, Rebecca Rabinow, Director, spoke with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Art Spiegelman about the exhibition Si Lewen: The Parade. In celebration of The Curatorial Imagination of Walter Hopps, the Menil welcomed Larry Bell, George Herms, and Ed Ruscha for a lively panel conversation. Robert Longo joined the Menil in April to discuss his prac tice and his work on view in the exhibition, and in June 2023, Mel Chin and Terrell James explored the publication Artists We’ve Known: Selected Works from the Walter Hopps and Caroline Huber Collection with book designer Don Quaintance.

The Menil Collection

Artists Larry Bell; George Herms; Ed Ruscha. Photo: BEND Productions

Writers in the Schools

Since 1989, Writers in the Schools (WITS) has brought Gulf Coastarea school children to the Menil Collection, where students create stories, poems, and prose inspired by works on view. Students are then chosen through a juried competition to be published in the Watchful Eye anthology—a collection of poems and essays by students created about their trips to the Menil over the years. They also read their work at the Menil to culminate the school year. In addition to financially supporting the program, the Menil opens its art buildings early at no charge to WITS so that the students and teachers may visit the galleries outside of regular business hours.

During Fiscal Year 2023, approximately 1,316 students from seven schools made twenty-seven field trips to the museum.

Musical Performances and Film Screenings

During Fiscal Year 2023, the Menil Collection partnered with DACAMERA on four free concerts including two Stop, Look and Listen! performances in response to exhibitions Samuel Fosso: African Spirits and The Curatorial Imagination of Walter Hopps. Pianist Jose-Miguel Yamal and his quartet performed during Jazz on the Lawn in October 2022, and in celebration of DACAMERA’s innovative Young Artist program, Yvonne Chen and Boson Mo presented a concert featuring works by John Corigliano, Sergei Prokofiev, and former Young Artist Nicky Sohn. A particularly special musical experience was Michael Harrison’s performance of his acclaimed work Revelation: Music in Pure Intonation, 2007, in the galleries of Walter De Maria: Boxes for Meaningless Work. Two days earlier, on November 5, 2022, the Menil hosted a conversation with the composer exploring De Maria’s involvement in avantgarde music in the 1960s.

Co-presented with Aurora Picture Show and organized in tandem with the exhibition Meret Oppenheim: My Exhibition, the Menil screened Octopus’s Garden, a collection of short films showcasing cut-outs, collage, layering, and stop-motion animation. The Menil also collaborated with Aurora on the 10th anniversary of the lively Bring Your Own Beamer (BYOB) event.

In Fiscal year 2023, the Menil screened Al Santana’s landmark 1985 film, Voices of the Gods, in conjunction with the exhibition Samuel Fosso: African Spirits and a double feature of Afrykas and the Magic Box by Isabel Rivero-Vilá and Mandabi as part of the 2023 West African Film Festival.

Michael Harrison.

Photo: Daniel Ortiz

Support

The Menil Collection gratefully acknowledges the following donors for their cumulative gifts of $500 and above between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023.

$500,000–$999,999

The Brown Foundation, Inc.

City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance

$100,000–$199,999

Kathy and George Britton, Jr.

The Cullen Foundation

John R. Eckel, Jr. Foundation

Gagosian

Caroline Huber

The Henry Luce Foundation, Inc.

Franci Neely

The Powell Foundation

Robert Rauschenberg Foundation

The Sarofim Foundation

Texas Commission on the Arts

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts

Mark Wawro and Melanie Gray

The Wortham Foundation, Inc.

$50,000–$99,999

Jim Avant

Suzanne Deal Booth

Clare Casademont and Michael Metz

Cockrell Family Fund

J.W. Couch Foundation

Hilda and Greg Curran

The Dedalus Foundation

Cindy and David Fitch

Barbara and Michael Gamson

Janet and Paul Hobby

Ellsworth Kelly Foundation

Linda and George Kelly

Kinder Foundation

Dillon Kyle and Sam Lasseter

Douglas Lawing and Guy Hagstette

The Brown Foundation, Inc. / Isabel and Ransom Lummis

John P. McGovern Foundation

Susan and Francois de Menil

Bérengère Primat

Susanne and William E. Pritchard III

Kathryn and Richard Rabinow

Nancy and Clive Runnells Foundation

Leslie and Shannon Sasser

Vivian L. Smith Foundation

Bill Stewart and Johanna Brasset

The Clarence Westbury Foundation

Nina and Michael Zilkha

$25,000–$49,999

The Brown Foundation, Inc. / Nancy and Mark Abendshein

Nora and Robert Ackerley

Eddie and Chinhui Allen

Walter M. Bering

Bettie Cartwright

Julie and John Cogan, Jr.

Ben and Cynthia Guill

Agnes Gund

Janet Gurwitch and Ron Franklin

Cecily E. Horton

Janie C. Lee and David B. Warren

Cornelia Long

Nancy McGregor Manne and Neal Manne

Mary Hale Lovett McLean

Carol and David Neuberger

Marilyn Oshman

Isla and Thomas Reckling

Noelle and Eric Reed

The Brown Foundation, Inc. / Allison Sarofim

Lea Weingarten

Whalley Foundation

Elizabeth and Barry Young

$10,000–$24,999

Henrietta K. Alexander

Nancy C. Allen

The Anchorage Foundation of Texas

Laura and Tom bacon

Jacquelyn Barish

Melza and Ted Barr

Anne and Jack Bellows

Angela and William Cannady

Jan and William Cato

Cerón and Todd Fiscus

Anne and Albert Chao

Jerry Ann Woodfin Costa and Victor Costa

Margaret Vaughan Cox and Jonathan Cox

Barbara Davis

Karen L. Desenberg

Sheila Noeth and Ted Dohmen

Anne Duncan

Jenny Elkins

Sheldon and Clayton Erikson

Betty and Jean-Marie Eveillard

Cece and Michael Fowler

The Frill Foundation

Melissa and Albert Grobmyer

The George and Mary Josephine Hamman Foundation

Sarah and John Hastings

Diana and Russell Hawkins

Holthouse Foundation for Kids

Lynne James Hudson and Edward J. Hudson, Jr.

Jill and Dunham Jewett

Carol and Neil Kelley

Ann Kennedy and Geoffrey Walker

Stephanie Larsen

Alison W. Leland

Ann Lents and David Heaney

Anne Levy Charitable Trust

Dallas McNamara

Lois and George de Menil

Betty Moody

Kimball and David Moriniere

Cullen and Robert Muse

Cabrina and Steven Owsley

Karen and Harry Pinson

The Brown Foundation, Inc. / Elisa and Cris Pye

Radoff Family Foundation

Kelly Rorschach

Kimerly Rorschach and John Hart

Andrew Rosenfeld

Almine and Bernard Ruiz-Picasso

Margaret and Joel Shannon

Scott Sparvero

Stedman West Foundation

Mike Stude

The Susan Vaughan Foundation

Judy S. Tate

MaryRoss Taylor

Morris A. Weiner and Leslie Field

Vivian Wise

Traci and John Young

$5,000–$9,999

BKD Foundation

Nancy and Robert S. Blank Foundation

Lesley and Gerald Bodzy

Marianna and Chris Brewster

Cynthia and Laurence Burns

Eva Kristina Bush and Todd Bush

Jeffrey and Alexandra Butt

Marjorie and J. Walker Cain

Valerie Carberry and Richard Wright

Kate and Joseph Cavanaugh

Jereann Chaney

Cathryn Chapman

Dorothy and Samuel Crocker

James M. Collins Foundation

Megan Davis

Sara Paschall Dodd

Martha and Richard Finger

Maurine Ford

Jo and James Furr

Margaret and James Griffith

Terri and John Havens

Dorene and Frank Herzog

Anna and Harold Holliday

Deborah Hurwitz and Burce Herzog

J Squared Family Foundation

Jill Ann Jarrell and Noah Shroyer

Willard and Ruth Johnson

Charitable Foundation

Sissy and Denny Kempner

Kiki and Taylor Landry

Laura and Keefer Lehner

Jenna Lindley

Marley Lott

Judy and Rodney Margolis

Penelope and Lester Marks

Rebecca Marvil and Brian Smyth

Catherine and George Masterson

Tiffany and Charles Masterson

Lisa and Will Mathis

Elisabeth and Brian McCabe

Anne and John Moriniere

Fan and Peter Morris

Jenny and Edwin Murphy

The Brown Foundation, Inc. /

Barbara and Thomas O’Connor

Anaeze C. Offodile II

Martha and José Oti

Veronica and Douglas Overman

Carroll and Hugh Ray

The Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation

Lisa Rich and John McLaughlin

Beverly and Howard Robinson

Karlsson and Brian Salek

Raquel and Andrew Segal

Sarah Beth and Paul Seifert

Sandy and Katy Shurin

María Inés Sicardi

Kelly and Nick Silvers

Michelle Slater

Leigh and Reggie Smith

Angela and Mark Smith

Josephine and Richard Smith

Ann and John Smither

Julia and John Stallcup

Lois and George Stark

Ann and Karl Stern

Jennifer and David Strauss

Ann Trammell

Phoebe and Bobby Tudor

Craig and Molly Vandegrift

Waqas Wajahat

Mary and Roger Wallace

Wendy Watriss

Thomas F. Wessel

Andrea and Bill White

Cyvia Wolff

$1,000–$4,999

AHB Foundation

Allison Armstrong Ayers and David Ayers

Melanie and Mitchell Baldridge

Lauren and Max Barrett

Jeff Beauchamp

James and Kimberly Bell

Kristen and John Berger

Bert Bertonaschi

Kayla and Sean Berwald

Helyna Bledsoe and John Thompson

Katy and John Boettcher

Fredricka Brecht

Mary and Zachry Brown

Leslie and Brad Bucher

Barbara Bushong

Sara Cain

Homero Carrillo, Jr.

Tripp Carter

Katie and Michael Casey

Estela and David Cockrell

C.C. Conner, Jr. and David Groover

Susan M. Cooley

Kelty and Rogers Crain

Ryma Korab and Dean Crassas

Stacey and Casey Crenshaw

Peilin Cui

Paula Daly

Christina Diekman

Lisa and George Dodd

Charles Dresser

Edit Lukacs Dragoi

Nancy Dunlap

Bruce Eames

Emma Elsenbrook

Nancy Etheridge

Linda and Simon Eyles

Caroline and Jeremy Finkelstein

H. Fort Flowers Foundation, Inc.

Anne and Robin French

Illa and William Gaunt

Kirsten and Lance Gilliam

Bob Gober and Donald Moffett

Christina and William Goodwin

Lacey and Matthew Goossen

Marc E. Grossberg

Mary Hammon and Jacob Quinn

Kelly Beth and Charles Hapgood

Jennifer Hau

Lauren Walstad Hardy

Sheri Henriksen

Josephine Hill

Greg Ingram

Kristen and George Jackson

Claire Johnson

Maria and Taylor Johnson

Jonathan B. Jones

Leigh and Christopher Joseph

The Joan and Marvin Kaplan Foundation

Ann and Stephen Kaufman

Christian K. Keesee

James Kelly

Kirkpatrick Family Fund

Katherine and Paul Kitchen

Carla Knobloch

Kristin Kott

Vivian and Byron Langford

Carol LeWitt

Frances A. Lummis

Scott and Kimberly Martin

Annie and Taylor Mason

Allison Crutcher McAshan

April and William McGee

Hollis McGregor

Ashley McPhail

Sandra and Kenny Moffet

Donald Moffett

Sara and Bill Morgan

Nedra Yulman Oren and Mark Oren

Ashley Overbeek

Sue Payne

Kristen and Drew Perrin

Olivia and Edward Persia

Laura S. Peters

Jessica Phifer

The Podhurst, Dern, Koffsky, Weinberg Foundation

Fairfax and Risher Randall

Victoria Ridgway

Christopher Rothko

Lauren Rottet

Gloria and Nick Ryan

John Sapp

Gillian Sarofim

Winifred Scheuer and Kevin Bonebrake

Kelly and Drew Scoggins

Scurlock Foundation

Diana Skerl

Jackson Smith

Maria and John Stavinoha

Natalie and Jamey Steen

Susman Family Foundation

Shannon and Nick Swyka

Mark Taylor and Jon Mercado

William Taylor

Charlotte Bouin Wilkinson

Sandra Tirey and Jan van Lohuizen

Emily Todd

Susie and Payson Tucker

Melissa and Oliver Tuckerman

Pavlina Vagioni and Matthew Hughes

Katherine Warren

JoAnn Williams

Lynn and Oscar Wyatt

Janie and Daniel Zilkha

Erla and Harry Zuber

Support Cont.

$500–$999

Wendy and Michael Adler

Judy Ley Allen

Kelly Barnhart

Libba and Geer Blalock

Carolyn Bloomer

Anna Brewster

Nancy and William Brownell

Mary and Paul Collins

Lillian and Harry H. Cullen III

Ellen and Frank W. Donnelly, Jr.

Laura Donnelly

Sarah Foltz

Lloyd French

Peter and Diana Garza

Gilbert & Ildiko Butler Family Foundation

Elizabeth Glassman

Susan and Robert Hawkins

Bradley Houston

Brayden and Ted Keenan

Sara Kelly

Yasmin Kooros

Matt LeBlanc

Shelli and Steven Lindley

Rebecca and R. Scott McCay

Katie F. McNearney

Jenny Meyer

Chandler Moody

Hillary Naeve

Capera and Igor Norinsky

Eliza H. Ozden

Catherine and John Pearson

Brooke and Corbin Robertson III

Susan Rudolph

Victoria Salem

Liana and Andrew Schwaitzberg

Orel Shoham

Hannah Siegel-Gardner

Sarah and Tim Stephens

Linley Stroud

Harold Taylor

The Cragg Family Foundation

The Welch Family Fund

Mary Elizabeth and Hunter Wakefield

Worth Family Foundation

Jay Zeidman

Members at the opening reception of The Curatorial Imagination of Walter Hopps. Photo: Hung Truong

Menil Society

The Menil Society is composed of philanthropic members who enjoy a special relationship with the Menil Collection. Members are dedicated to fostering deeper engagement with the museum, its mission, and its world-renowned collection by generously supporting exhibitions, programming, and the museum’s annual fund.

Benefactor

Henrietta K. Alexander

Eddie and Chinhui Allen

Jim F. Avant

Angela and William Cannady

Diane and Michael Cannon

Bettie Cartwright

Clare Casademont and Michael Metz

Julie and John Cogan, Jr.

Marsha and Samuel Dodson

Laura and Walter Elcock

Caroline and Jeremy Finkelstein

Cindy and David Fitch

Cece and Michael Fowler

Barbara and Michael Gamson

Agnes Gund

Diana and Russell Hawkins

Judith and Marc Herzstein

Janet and Paul Hobby

Caroline Huber

Linda and George Kelly

Sissy and Denny Kempner

Dillon Kyle and Sam Lasseter

Doug Lawing and Guy Hagstette

Nancy McGregor Manne and Neal Manne

Matthew Marks and Jack Bankowsky

Susan and Francois de Menil

Sara and Bill Morgan

Franci Neely

Scott and Judy Nyquist

Susanne and William E. Pritchard III

Kathryn and Richard Rabinow

Leslie and Shannon Sasser

Lois and George Stark

Bill Stewart and Johanna Brassert

Morris A. Weiner and Leslie Field

Sean T. Wheeler

Cyvia Wolff

Nina and Michael Zilkha

Friend

Melza and Ted Barr

Jack Bell

Leah Bennett

Leslie and Brad Bucher

Jereann Chaney

Jane and William Curtis

Morris and Amanda Gelb

Heidi and David Gerger

Elizabeth Glassman

Chris Goins and Josh Pazda

Alessandra Grace and Sam Gorgen

Claudia and Karsten Greve

Evelyn Griffin

Melissa and Albert Grobmyer

Kathryn Hale

Deborah Hurwitz and Bruce Herzog

Elise and Russell Joseph

Jeanne and Michael Klein

Karol Kreymer and Robert Card

Cornelia Long

Marley Lott

Heather Marshall Molavi and Shawheen Molavi

Anne and John Moriniere

Kimball and David Moriniere

Isla and Thomas Reckling

Lillie Robertson

Jacqueline and Richard Schmeal

Ann Wales

Andrea and Bill White

Marion and Benjamin Wilcox

John Zipprich

Fellow

Nora and Robert Ackerley

Carlos Bacino

Jacquelyn Barish

Katharine Barthelme and Shane Frank

Jeff Beauchamp

Lesley and Gerald Bodzy

Carrie and Sverre Brandsberg-Dahl

Cynthia and Laurence Burns

George Connelly

C. C. Conner, Jr. and David Groover

Jerry Ann Woodfin Costa and Victor Costa

Lauri and Christopher Cragg

Paula Daly

Brenda and Kenneth Dillon

Bevin and Daniel Dubrowski

Nancy Dunlap

Linda and Simon Eyles

Rachel and Edward Folse

Joyce Goss

Joshua Hansel

Angela and Craig Jarchow

Jill and Dunham Jewett

Page Kempner

Katherine Kohlmeyer

Devorah and David Krieger

Shelli and Steven Lindley

Aaron Loeb and James Flowers

Terry Mahaffey

Judy and Rodney Margolis

Penelope and Lester Marks

Poppi Massey

Mary Hale Lovett McLean

Fan and Peter Morris

Cullen and Robert Muse

Veronica and Douglas Overman

Olivia and Edward Persia

Laura S. Peters

Jessica Phifer

Mary Hammon and Jacob Quinn

Beverly and Howard Robinson

Cory Rogge and Kevin MacKenzie

David Ruiz

Victoria Salem

Winifred Scheuer and Kevin Bonebrake

Liana and Andrew Schwaitzberg

Stephen Schwarz and Michael Naul

Kelley and Jeffrey Scofield

Sarah Beth and Paul Seifert

Kelly and Nick Silvers

Angela and Mark Smith

Leigh and Reggie Smith

Ellen D. Susman

Amy Sutton and Gary Chiles

Mark Taylor and Jon Mercado

Sandra Tirey and Jan van Lohuizen

Martha Claire Tompkins

Pavlina Vagioni and Matthew Hughes

Benjamin G. Wilcox

Skyler Wyatt

Elizabeth and Barry Young

Erla and Harry Zuber

Associate

Judy Ley Allen

Maida and Paul Asofsky

Sheri and Camp Bailey

Melanie and Mitchell Baldridge

Sarah Balinskas

Ilene and Paul Barr

Patricia Beaver-Skakun and Gary Skakun

Emily and Andreas Berghoefer

Paul L. Bowman

Kathleen A. Boyd

Marianna and Chris Brewster

Lora and Peter Caldwell

Virginia and William Camfield

Helen and Benjamin Cohen

Mary Jo and Joseph Colagiovanni

Patricia H. Colville

Elizabeth and Steven Crowell

Helen Davis

Joell and Thomas Doneker

Stephanie and Gregory Evans

Kristina Van Dyke Fort and John Fort

Nanette Garelis

Kathy and Martyn Goossen

Joy and Don Haley

Lauren Walstad Hardy

Alecia Harris

Sarah and John Hastings

Kellie and Jeff Hepper

Dorene and Frank Herzog

Richard W. Holley

Catherine Holste

G. G. Hsieh

Lee Huber

Fredericka Hunter and Ian Glennie

Kerry Inman and Denby Auble

Franny and John Jeffries

Shelley and Alex Kaplan

Wendy and Mavis Kelsey

Anne L. Kinder

Carla Knobloch

Christa and Aivars Krumins

Mari and Greg Marchbanks

Rebecca Marvil and Brian Smyth

Surena and Misty Matin

Gaye and Edward McCullough

Mary Ann and Alexander McLanahan

Will McLendon

Betty Moody

Cristina and William Moore

Crystal Moore and Christopher Hubbard

Jennifer Nelsen and Vinod Pathrose

Evelyn and Roy* Nolen

Mary and Paul Nugent

Mari Omori

Elizabeth and George Passela

Maureen and Paul Perea

Andrea and Carl Peterson

Nancy and David Pustka

Fairfax and Risher Randall

Leonor and Eric Ratliff

Gloria and Nick Ryan

Frank Rynd

Karlsson and Brian Salek

Neda Scanlan

Marc Schindler

Bryan Scrivner

Mariana Servitje

Ellen Simmons

Douglas Smith

Lauren and David Sparrow

Janet and John Springer

Eliza and Stuart Stedman

Michael Stoeger

Jennifer and David Strauss

Jane and Gary Swanson

Lucile B. Tennant

Adrienne and Timothy Unger

Katherine Warren

Elizabeth and Jack Weingarten

Heather and Robert Westendarp

Margaret and Kenneth Williams

* Deceased

Michelle White; John and Traci Young; Barry Young. Photo: Lawrence Elizabeth Knox

James and Kimberly Bell; Kelly and Nick Silvers. Photo: Daniel Ortiz David and Kimball Moriniere. Photo: Lawrence Elizabeth Knox

Charmstone Circle

The Menil Collection’s Charmstone Circle recognizes individuals who make annual financial gifts of $25,000 or more to the museum. Menil Society memberships, exhibition support, and unrestricted giving all count toward Charmstone Circle recognition. Charmstone Circle donors enjoy unparalleled access to the museum and the collection and are celebrated at an unforgettable annual dining and art event with Rebecca Rabinow, Director.

Nancy and Mark Abendshein

Henrietta Alexander

Eddie and Chinhui Allen

Jim Avant

Suzanne Deal Booth

Kathy and George Britton, Jr.

Angela and William Cannady

Diane and Michael Cannon

Bettie Cartwright

Clare Casademont and Michael Metz

Stephanie and Ernie Cockrell

Julie and John Cogan, Jr.

Hilda and Greg Curran

Cindy and David Fitch

Barbara and Michael Gamson

Agnes Gund

Janet Gurwitch and Ron Franklin

Janet and Paul Hobby

Caroline Huber

Linda and George Kelly

Dillon Kyle and Sam Lasseter

Stephanie Larsen

Doug Lawing and Guy Hagstette

Janie C. Lee and David B. Warren

Isabel and Ransom Lummis

Nancy McGregor Manne and Neal Manne

Mary Hale Lovett McLean

Susan and Francois de Menil

Franci Neely

Carol and David Neuberger

Scott and Judy Nyquist

Marilyn Oshman

Karen and Harry Pinson

Susanne and William E. Pritchard III

Kelly Rorschach

Kimerly Rorschach and John Hart

Leslie and Shannon Sasser

Bill Stewart and Johanna Brassert

Mark Wawro and Melanie Gray

Morris A. Weiner and Leslie Field

Lea Weingarten

Elizabeth and Barry Young

Nina and Michael Zilkha

Charmstone Circle Dinner at Menil House. Photo: Judy Waters

Corporate Support

The Menil Collection is pleased to recognize gifts from corporations in Fiscal Year 2023.

$25,000+

Christie’s

Frost Bank

Gagosian

Hauser & Wirth

H-E-B

Latham & Watkins LLP

UBS

$10,000–$24,999

Bloomberg Philanthropies

Hines

Houston Trust Co.

Kindred Industrial

Legacy Trust Company

Marek

$5,000–$9,999

Bank of America

BrightView

Curtis & Windham Architects

Shell Oil Company Foundation

Tanglewood Property Group

$1,000–$4,999

Eureka Heights Brew Co.

Fayez Sarofim & Co.

Kraushaar Galleries

Liaisons Corporation

Reed Smith LLP

Sicardi Gallery

TotalEnergies

In-Kind Support

Christie’s

Eureka Heights Brew Co.

The Events Co.

Jackson and Company

Magnol French Baking

University of St. Thomas

Glass Key Society

Named after a beloved painting by René Magritte, the Glass Key Society honors individuals who have included the Menil Collection in their wills, personal trusts, or other planned giving arrangements. Through their thoughtful contributions, members of the Glass Key Society help to ensure a vital future for the museum. For information about making a legacy gift, please contact Judy Waters, Director of Advancement, at 713–525–9425 or jwaters@menil.org.

Anonymous (4)

Diane Arnold and Bill Frazier

Jeff Beauchamp

Collection of Mollie R. and William T. Cannady

Tripp Carter

Julie and John Cogan, Jr.

Helen and Benjamin Cohen

Christy and Louis Cushman

Sir Mark Fehrs Haukohl

Alex Heylen and Monika Lybeer

Greg Ingram

Paige and Todd Johnson

Vladimir Khaoustov

Douglas L. Lawing

Terry Mahaffey

Mary Hale Lovett McLean

Marc Melcher

Franci Neely

Laurie Newendorp

Francesco Pellizzi

Susanne and William E. Pritchard III

Marietta Voglis

Morris Weiner

John L. Zipprich II

Installation view of René Magritte, The Glass Key, 1959. The Menil Collection, Houston. © 2021 C. Herscovici / Artists Right Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Sara Beck

Patron

W. K. Adam

Anaceli Aldaz

Dawn McCarty and John Altemose, Jr.

Paolo* and Surpik Angelini

Steven Hooker and Rick Ankrom

Phyllis Panenka and David Archer

Mary and Marcel Barone

Louise and Henry Bethea

Nancy and Scott Bolduc

Pauline Bolton

Nana Booker and David Lowe

Margaret Boulware and Hartley Hampton

James Browne

Nancy and William Brownell

Cathryn Chapman

Charlott and Robert Childers

Lori Choi and Ryan Pera

Kathleen and Robert Clarke

Steven L. Cowart

Thomas M. Edens

John Eymann*

Joseph A. Fischer III

Kathleen and John Fitzgerald

David Aylsworth and Paul Forsythe

Mary Foster

Donna and Gary Freedman

Kerry A. Galvin

Peter and Diana Garza

Leslie Gassner

Mary L. Gibbs

Irma and Kirk Girouard

Marc E. Grossberg

Richard Gruen

Nancy and Vincent* Guinee

David and Nanette Hartdegen

Olive Hershey and Arvin Conrad

Anna and Harold Holliday

Kandy Kaye Horn

Carrie Horne

Patricia Hunt and Joseph Milton

Greg Ingram

Tayyba Kanwal

Marvin Kaplan

Elizabeth and Albert Kidd

Malcolm F. King, Jr.

Rajiv Kohli

Anuradha and Shirish Lal

Susan Lapin

Frank R. Larkey

Benigna and Ernst Leiss

Dinah Chetrit and Rich Levy

Membership

Mariquita Masterson

Michelle and Bill Matthews

Jean and Henry May

Beth McCracken

Valerie and Miguel Miró Quesada

Janet Moore

Matthew A. Morgan

Brian and Jennifer Moss

Douglas A. Murphy

Djenane Nakhle

Phil Nevlud

Mark H. Onak

Michael R. Piana

Carol and Daniel Price

Macey and Harry Reasoner

Leslie and Russ Robinson

Melanie L. Rogers

Sara and Michael Shackleton

Karen Shouse

Renie and Louis Silver

Alana Spiwak and Sam Stolbun

Brian Stephens

Harold Taylor

Nancy P. Thompson

Patricia Troncoso and William Pugh

Robert W. Turnage

Lara Landmesser and Frederic Warner

Wendy Watriss

Jasper and Jane Ann Welch

Charlotte and Larry Whaley

Jill Whitten and Robert Proctor

James Calvin Williams

Steve Nall and Tom Young

Sponsor

Charles and Conway Adams

Wendy and Michael Adler

Nicholas Alexos

Ann and James Allison

Julia Andrieni

Claire and Wayne Douglas Ankenman

Marilyn Archer and Jack Eby

Elizabeth and Bob Ardell

Susie and David Askanase

Jerry Baiamonte

William A. Bartlett

Nancy and John Belmont

Bobbye and Robert Bennett

Julie and Ryan Bergeron

Rita and Joel Bergers

Kathy and Andrew Berkman

Shirley and Stanley Beyer

Carolyn Bloomer

Jane and Roger Boak

Minnette and Peter Boesel

Linda and Philip Boyko

Susan* and Andrew Brickell

Barbara A. Brooks

Robin and Richard Brooks

Heather L. Brown

Lisa and Ian Bryant

G. R. Burtner III

Katherine L. Butler

Teresa Byrne-Dodge and Cameron Ansari

Janet Caldwell

Nancy S. Caminiti

Kathleen Canning and Hubert Rast

Cynthia and Robert Card

Andrea Chiappe

Rhoda and Allen Clamen

Julie and John Cohn

Nancy S. Crowther

N. P. and Thomas Daly

Diana Davis

Martha and Daniel Dupêcher

Jane L. Eifler

Kathleen and Keith Ellison

Katy Emde

Milton Erickson

Patricia and Richard Ermler

Milton J. Finegold

Ann N. Finkelstein

Bernice Ann A. Fisher

Beverley and Wayne* Gilbert

Gretchen Gillis and David Cook

Penny and Shep Glass

Gayle Goodman and Kenneth Adam

Caroline and M. P. Graham

Nonya and Jonathan Grenader

Jennifer and Kirk Guy

Maureen and Gary Hall

Babette and Tod Harding

Michele Heater

Ann and Paul Herrera

Alan J. Hurwitz

Raymond Hylenski

George H. Johnson, Jr.

Pat Johnson

Gerry Karkowsky

Chandra Katragadda

Ann and Stephen Kaufman

Kim and David Kelley

Sheryl Kolasinski

Alexander and Victoria Lazar

Catherine Lee

Andrea R. Logans

Cynthia Coates and Andy Lubetkin

Robert MacNaughton

Katerina and Juan Mangini

Nitza and Moshe Maor

Mary Lynn and J. Steve Marks

Shelley and Mark Marmon

Lori and Marcel Mason

Alexandre and Maria Matuszczak

Jacklyn and Malcolm Mazow

Elizabeth McClintock and Rick Adams

Mary C. McConnell

Wilmer H. McCorquodale

Jacki and Frank McCreary

Georgia and Joel McGlasson

Mary McIntire and James Pomerantz

David S. McKee

Sonja and Steve McKinnon

Maria Merrill

Jenny Meyer

Jean S. Mintz

Nancy and Robert Mollers

Anne E. Murphy

Liliane and Cesar Nahas

Mary and Fred Nevill

Carolyn and Michael Newmark

Sandra Nugent

Carla O’Dell

Lynn and Stewart O’Dell

Betty and Duncan Osborne

Rochelle and Sheldon Oster

Frances and Walter Pagel

Joan and José Pérez

Linda W. Petersen

Michael Phillips

Lynn and Mark Pickett

H. Russell Pitman

Claire and Guillaume Plessis

Esther and Gary Polland

Kathrin and Albert Pope

Stephen and Janis Porter

Eamonn M. Quigley

Jennifer and Peter Ragauss

Maura and Walter Ritchie

Margot and Richard Rodriguez

Daisy Lee and Bradley Roe

Jane S. Root

Lynn and Alex Rosas

Casey and Kevin Rowe

Linda and Jerry Rubenstein

Ellen Safier

Samira Salman

Franca B. Sant’Ambrogio

Gemma and Luis Santos

Kathie Y. Saucier

Patricia Schillaci

Veronique and Luc Schlumberger

Michelle and Clifford Shedd

Christine and Michael Sigman

Patricia and Fielding Smith

Kathryn and Craig Smyser

Linda B. Spain

Michael G. Stewart

Mary Lou Swift

Eleanor and Jon Totz

Robert and Anne Tucker

Patricia and Steven Uchytil

Allen W. Ueckert

Kathy and John Unger

Ignatia Van den Veyver and Siddharth Prakash

Barbara Volkmer and Pablo Ruiz-Berlanga

Monica S. White

Janne Williams

Nancy and N. L. Williams

Kay and Carl Wilson

Natalie and Clint Wilson

David and Zully Wisniewski

Lauri and Robert Wray

Silvia Zarate and Felipe Ramirez

Kirsten and Daniel Zimmerman

* Deceased

Cindy and Larry Burns. Photo: Hung Truong Alkesta and Curtis Belknap; Casey and Katie Colello. Photo: Lawrence Elizabeth Knox

Menil Contemporaries

The Menil Contemporaries is a membership group for emerging patrons, collectors, and art enthusiasts who share a common passion for the Menil Collection. Menil Contemporaries are the next generation of leaders and advocates of the Menil.

Partner

Stephanie Aleixo

Melanie and Mitchell Baldridge

Caitlin and Tim Barkley

Melissa and Bart Barrett

Daniel Barron

Kayla and Sean Berwald

Helyna Bledsoe and John Thompson

Elizabeth and C. Walker Brierre

Matthew Brollier and Zach Gwin

Lindsey Brown and Chris Shepherd

Sara Cain

Sharon Cheng

Ben Clemenceau

Peilin Cui

Ashlyn Davis Burns

Cynthia Dehlavi

Julia Doran and Adam Carlis

Bevin and Daniel Dubrowski

Carolyn Egbert

Margo Fendrich and Tommy Nguyen

Katie and Jack Fitch

Sarah Foltz

Clarissa and Jesse Gonzalez

Lauren Walstad Hardy

Jennifer Hau

Claire Johnson

Madeline Kelly

Kelly Kenyon

Salome Kokoladze and Shane Lavalette

Megan E. Light

Haude Marchand

Jack McBride and Thain Allen

Michael McGinnis

Katie F. McNearney

Ashley McPhail

Capera and Igor Norinsky

Fernando Miguel Ramos III

Marjorie Rawle

Victoria Ridgway

Lea Salamoun

Karlsson and Brian Salek

Sarah Beth and Paul Seifert

Orel Shoham

Abraham Silva

Andrea Siso

Margaret and Michael Strode

Madelene A. Tennant

Melissa and Oliver Tuckerman

Mary Elizabeth and Hunter Wakefield

Stephanie Weber and Paul Muri

Jonathan Williams

Karen Wolfe

The Menil Collection

Chris Carlberg and Sarah Abare. Photo: Hung Truong Sarah Long; Peilin Cui; Linley Stroud; Laura Donnelly Photo: Hung Truong

Member Noontime Talks

Held on two Fridays each month, Member Noontime Talks are a popular way for Menil members to learn about the artwork on view and the projects in progress across our thirty-acre neighborhood of art. Each tour is led by a member of the Menil sta ff from a variety of departments, including Archives, Conservation, Curatorial, Facilities, and Publishing. The Menil presented twenty-four Member Noontime Talks in Fiscal Year 2023.

Art of the Cameroon Grassfields, A Living Heritage in Houston Noontime Talk. Photo: Caroline Philippone

Byzantine icons Noontime Talk . Photo: Caroline Philippone

Behind the Scenes

The Menil Collection

Collection Management

The Menil’s Collection Management Department consists of Registration, Art Services, Collection Database Administration, and Imaging Services.

The Collection Management Department coordinates all exhibitions and gallery rotations, as well as incoming and outgoing loans. Registration oversees all documentation related to the acquisition, exhibition, and storage of just under 19,000 artworks in the permanent collection. Registrars manage contract negotiations, fi ne art insurance, packing and crating, shipping, couriers, and electronic and physical fi le management for all projects. In Fiscal Year 2023, Registration arranged 182 shipments containing 1,051 objects.

Art Services professionally installs and dismantles all Menil exhibitions and rotations. The art handlers are responsible for packing and crating incoming and outgoing loans, monitoring storage areas, tracking location moves, and couriering outgoing loans with complex installation requirements. In Fiscal Year 2023, Art Services made 5,719 object moves.

The Collection Database team continually uploads data on artworks from the permanent collection to the Menil’s internal database and public website, menil.org. Nearly 2,000 entries are currently available to the public, 196 of which were added in Fiscal Year 2023.

Imaging Services supervises new photography of collection objects, archival materials, and rare books for the Menil. Imaging sta ff manage analog object photography and digital imaging collections, license images to outside scholars and publishers, and secure reproduction rights for publications. In Fiscal Year 2023, 658 permanent collection objects and promised gifts were photographed. Additionally, at the end of FY23, a new photography studio was completed in the main building.

Outgoing Loans

During Fiscal Year 2023, the Menil Collection loaned twenty-eight objects to thirteen institutions in four countries:

Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, TX

Barbican Art Gallery, London, United Kingdom

Dia Art Foundation, New York, NY

Fondation Opale, Lens, Switzerland

J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA

Karma, Los Angeles, CA

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO

Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, Paris, France

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX

Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA

Tampa Museum of Art, Tampa, FL

Installation of Nari Ward, Say Can You See, 2021.

Photo: Nadia Al-Khalifah

Attendance

In Fiscal Year 2023, the Menil Collection welcomed 218,354 guests to museum buildings. This number represents visitors to the main museum building, Cy Twombly Gallery, Menil Drawing Institute, and Dan Flavin Installation at Richmond Hall.

Art of the Cameroon Grassfields, A Living Heritage in Houston opening celebration. Photo: Hung Truong

*Curatorial

**Education

Director’s Office

Rebecca Rabinow, Director

Elsian Cozens, Director’s Office Liaison

Mariana Kessler, Assistant to the Director, Internal Affairs

Maryhelen Murray, Senior Assistant to the Director and Board of Trustees

Advancement

Judy V. Waters, Director of Advancement

Qasim Ali, Membership Associate

Katy Barber, Manager of Development Services

Carolina Borja, Corporate Giving Officer

Morgan Caesar, Development Services Assistant

Carrie Ermler, Manager of Membership and Visitor Services

Samuel Ferrigno, Manager of Individual Giving

Seneca Garcia, Visitor / Membership Assistant, Menil Drawing Institute

Monique Harris, Visitor / Membership Assistant

Chandler Harvey, Member Events Coordinator

Philip Karjeker, Visitor / Membership Assistant

Madeline Kelly, Director of Individual Giving

Lena Khattab, Manager of Patron Programs

Andrew Kozma, Monday / Tuesday Branard Street Receptionist

Daisy Perez, Director of Special Events

Alyssa Reese, Assistant to the Director of Advancement

Enelra Joyce (EJ) Rizalde, Visitor / Membership Assistant

Martin Schleuse, Manager of Foundation Relations

Lili (Kaneem) Smith, Visitor / Membership Assistant, Cy Twombly Gallery

Cameron Thomas, Development Services Associate

Breanna Word, Special Events Coordinator

Archives

Lisa Barkley, Archives Manager

Quentin Pace, Associate Archivist

Bookstore

Paul Forsythe, Bookstore Manager

Bozena (Bozi) Dobrijevic, Bookstore Associate

Collection Management

Susan Slepka Anderson, Director of Collection Management

Stephanie Harris Akin, Senior Associate Registrar, Loans and Exhibitions

Nadia Al-Khalifah, Assistant Registrar, Collections and Exhibitions

David Aylsworth, Collections Registrar

Madison Caceres, Collection Management Coordinator

Catherine Fitzgerald Eckels, Registrar, Menil Drawing Institute

Anna Foret, Associate Registrar, Loans and Exhibitions

Jonathan Groom, Art Preparator

Christopher Henry, Art Preparator

John (Russ) Lane, Associate Art Preparator

Margaret C. McKee, Digital Asset Manager

Robert (Ole) Petersen, Art Preparator

Caroline Philippone, Photographer

Tony Rubio, Chief Preparator

Donna Török-Oberholtzer, Imaging Services Librarian

Charles (Patrick) Yarrington, Art Preparator, Menil Drawing Institute

Conservation

Corina (Cory) Rogge, Director of Conservation

Joy Bloser, Assistant Objects Conservator

Jan Burandt, Conservator of Works of Art on Paper

Dominic Clay, Conservation Technician, Menil Drawing Institute

Chloe Cook, Conservation Coordinator

James Craven, Conservation Imaging Specialist

Annie Daubert, Conservation Records Administrator

Desirae (Desi) Dijkema, Associate Paintings Conservator

Kari Dodson, Objects Conservator

Mina Gaber, Matter / Framer

Abby Schleicher, Mellon Fellow for Paper Conservation

Curatorial

Edouard Kopp, John R. Eckel, Jr. Foundation Chief Curator, Menil Drawing Institute

Michelle White, Senior Curator

Sophie Asakura, Curatorial Assistant, Modern and Contemporary Art

Danielle Bennett, Curatorial Associate

Megan Cekander, Administrative Assistant, Curatorial Department

Paul R. Davis, Curator of Collections

Natalie Dupêcher, Associate Curator of Modern Art

Clare Elliott, Associate Research Curator

Julia Fisher, Administrative Assistant, Menil Drawing Institute

Kirsten Marples, Curatorial Associate, Menil Drawing Institute

Kelly Montana, Assistant Curator, Menil Drawing Institute

Sarah Beth Wilson, Exhibitions Manager

Exhibition Design

Kent Dorn, Exhibition Designer

Alejandro (Alex) Rosas, Exhibition Design Assistant

Finance

Ileana Del Toro, Chief Financial Officer

Brandon (Mat) Conner, Financial and Budget Manager

Emilee Hunter, Assistant to the Chief Financial Officer

Shiow-Chyn (Susie) Liao, Assistant Controller

Suzanne Ralls, Accounts Payable Specialist

Xinyi (Olivia) Zhang, General Ledger Accountant

Xuguang (Toby) Zhao, Controller

Human Resources

Suzanne Maloch, Director of Human Resources

Perla Mancillas, Senior Human Resources Generalist

Information Technology

Christopher (Chris) Dague, Director of Information Technology

Albert Diaz III, Network Support Specialist

Library

Lauren Gottlieb-Miller, Director of the Library and Archives

Robin Key, Assistant Librarian

Marketing and Communications

Sarah Hobson, Associate Director of Marketiung and Communications

Catherine (Cathy) Baumanis, Marketing Manager

Jennifer Greene, Communications Manager

Amanda Thomas, Senior Graphic Designer

Museum Facilities

Wesley Haines, Director of Facilities

Chris Akin, Mailroom Clerk / Receptionist

Juan Buenrostro, Custodian

Carl Chaney, Custodian

Nick Cedillo, Lead Custodian

Bridget Eldredge, Maintenance Assistant / Relief Control Room

Ernest Flores, Maintenance Assistant

Roberto Gonzalez, Grounds and Custodial Supervisor

Jack Patterson, Facilities Coordinator

Alvin Ramirez, Groundskeeper

Marco Ramirez, Groundskeeper

Shivnaraine (Shiv) Sewnauth, Facilities Engineer

Philip Soto, Maintenance Assistant

Javier Verduzco, Custodian

Project Development

Melissa McDonnell Luján, Director of Project Development

Brooke Stroud, Design Advisor

Public Programs

Mary Magsamen, Manager of Public Programs

Anthony (Tony) Martinez, Programs Coordinator

Publishing

Joseph N. Newland, Director of Publishing

Eileen Owens, Associate Editor

Safety and Security

Latisha Gilbert, Gallery Attendant Supervisor

Mirzama Sisic, Gallery Attendant Supervisor

Arceli Arcilla, Gallery Attendant Trainer

Cynthia Ballard, Gallery Attendant

Charles Bradley, Gallery Attendant

Delana Bunch, Gallery Attendant

Mackenzie Crawford, Gallery Attendant

William Cuevas, Control Room Monitor

Story Curry, Gallery Attendant

Paulita Del Gallego, Gallery Attendant

Aailyah Fields, Gallery Attendant

Jamarcus (Jay) Gilmore, Gallery Attendant

Jorge González, Gallery Attendant

Nydia Gutierrez, Gallery Attendant

Vera Hadzic, Assistant Gallery Attendant Supervisor

Earl Harris, Control Room Monitor

Halley Heckman, Gallery Attendant

Shawnie Hunt, Control Room Monitor

Sossina Kenfere, Gallery Attendant

Bordin Keplar, Gallery Attendant

Reynaldo Legaspi, Gallery Attendant

Dylan Matos, Gallery Attendant

Eric Valdez Morales, Control Room Monitor

Jesper Panessah, Gallery Attendant

Meichelle Robinson, Gallery Attendant

Carlos Rodriguez, Gallery Attendant

Nicholas Rodriguez, Gallery Attendant

Laronda Shelvin, Gallery Attendant

Kenneth Sherman, Gallery Attendant

Jesus (Daniel) Torres, Gallery Attendant

Jesse Villareal, Gallery Attendant

Jacqueline Yagao, Gallery Attendant

Macario Yagao, Gallery Attendant

Tatena (Judy) Young, Gallery Attendant

*Staff list as of June 30, 2023

Copyright © 2023 Menil Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.

Published by the Marketing and Communications Department

Jennifer Greene, Editor

Sarah Hobson, Editor

Sarah E. Robinson, Proofreader

Amanda Thomas, Graphic Design

The Menil Collection 1533 Sul Ross Street Houston, TX 77006 713-525-9400

Museum and bookstore hours: Wednesday–Sunday, 11:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m.

Free admission, always.

Free parking at 1515 West Alabama Street menil.org

Photo credits: Cover, installation view of The Curatorial Imagination of Walter Hopps, photo: Paul Hester; pp. 2–3, installation view of Robert Motherwell Drawing: As Fast as the Mind Itself, photo: Hung Truong ; pp. 10–11, installation view of Walter De Maria: Boxes for Meaningless Work at the Menil Collection, Houston. All works © The Estate of Walter De Maria. Photo: Paul Hester; pp. 20–21, installation view Dream Monuments: Drawing in the 1960s and 1970s, photo: Paul Hester; pp. 24–25, photo: Sarah Hobson; pp. 32–33, photo: Melissa Taylor; pp. 36–37, photo: Daniel Ortiz; pp. 50–51, photo: Caroline Philippone