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Museum · Houston, Texas
The Menil Collection
Art museum by Renzo Piano in the Montrose neighborhood, with surrealism, African and Byzantine art and modern works, with free admission.
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
Discover
About The Menil Collection
The Menil Collection brings together the art collection of John and Dominique de Menil, a couple who moved from France to Houston in the 1940s. The main building, opened in 1987, was Renzo Piano’s first museum in the United States, featuring a blade roof that filters natural light into the galleries.
The holdings range from antiquities and Byzantine art to African and Pacific Island art, along with one of the most important groups of Surrealist works outside Europe, including pieces by Max Ernst and René Magritte, and modern and contemporary art. Smaller buildings in the same neighborhood house the Cy Twombly Gallery and the Menil Drawing Institute.
The campus covers several blocks of wooden houses painted gray, with lawns and trees, in the residential Montrose neighborhood. Admission is free.
Before you go
Practical information
Cidade Turismo reviews its information regularly, but something may have changed. Check with the place before planning your trip.
How much time to set aside
One to three hours.
Best time
In the morning, Wednesday through Sunday; the museum is closed some weekdays.
How to get there
By car or bus, in the Montrose neighborhood, about 4 km from downtown.
Tip
Combine the visit with the Rothko Chapel, a few blocks away, and the Cy Twombly Gallery on the same campus.
Official website
Get your questions answered
Frequently asked questions about The Menil Collection
Do you have to pay to visit the Menil Collection?
There is no admission fee at the Menil Collection.
Who designed the Menil Collection?
The architect Renzo Piano; it was his first museum in the United States.
What is in the Menil Collection?
Antiquities, Byzantine and African art, a large collection of Surrealism, and modern and contemporary art.