Menil Collection

The Menil Collection, located in Houston, Texas, refers to the museum that houses the art collection of founders John de Menil and Dominique de Menil, or to the collection of paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, photographs and rare books it houses. The museum is said to rank with "the great private museums in the United States—the Frick in New York City, the Gardner in Boston, and the Phillips in Washington, D.C."

The future couple met at a ball at Versailles in 1930. At that time, Jean Marie Joseph Menu de Ménil (who subsequently Americanized his name) was 26 year-old baron. Dominique was the daughter of Conrad Schlumberger, who was a founder of the oil-drilling equipment company Schlumberger, which was the basis of the family fortune, which exceeded $100 million. Dominique converted to Catholicism, and they were married in 1931. The family settled in Houston in 1941, to escape the Nazi occupation of France.

The de Menils' most important mentor was a Dominican priest named Father Marie-Alaine Couturier. He taught them about modern art, with a strong interest in spirituality. He also advised them that with their great wealth, they should buy art and share it with the public. By the time of John de Menil's death in 1973, the couple had collected 10,000 art objects.