Menil Collection Snapshot
The Menil Foundation controls the renowned art collection of the late John and Dominique de Menil. The collection was opened to the public in 1987 with the founding of a gallery in Houston. Key elements of the Menils' collection include African and tribal art, Byzantine era pieces, as well as 20th-century paintings (especially those done by surrealists, including Max Ernst and René Magritte). The war chest for this impressive collection was funded mainly from stock in Schlumberger, the oil services firm founded by Dominique's father. (The oil connection explains how the French-born couple found their way to Houston.)