De Maria had traveled to Santa Barbara for his mother's 100th birthday in early June; however, he went on to . She began to collect work by contemporary Americans even before her parents did, and exerted considerable influence on their acquisitions in the field. Now I have a vocation and much better bearings.''. "[15] 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".[16]. Christophe, a tall, graceful woman, who has a long history of supporting ''difficult'' art projects, began designing costumes for Robert Wilson in 1981. . The bulk of the vast collection - reportedly worth between $150 milllion and $175 million - will be kept on the second floor in open storage, visible to anyone who wants to see it. They have been adventurous patrons, perhaps less concerned than many with the kudos and the cash that go with art patronage in American society. A local citizen once called John up and railed against him as a ''red'' for his support of King. Her second husband is is a German-born former art dealer, Heiner Friedrich, with whom she is deeply engaged in Sufism. ''Before that it was the old Bourbon alliance, blue-collar whites and white-collar businessmen. Explains William Camfield, whom the de Menils brought over as professor of art history from St. Thomas, ''At Rice, the de Menils said, 'Let's see if it works and if you like it. Small wonder that in Houston, a city where, as a local gadfly once observed, ''it's easier to be rich than interesting,'' the de Menils are something of a legend. On the other hand, she can be imperious. An 11th-century abbey revamped during the 18th century, the chateau has perhaps 100 rooms. ''It began to look more like de Menil University than St. Thomas. [29] The Foundation offered the CarterMenil Human Rights Prize, sponsored by the Rothko Chapel, to organizations or individuals for their commitment to human rights. It also features temporary exhibitions. ''If only my father could see him now,'' his sister Adelaide has remarked proudly. Both born in Houston - their three elders were born in France - they grew up in the rebellious 60's and seem to have come to terms more uneasily than the others with the Schlumberger aura. For starters, in a locale where the ideal home was a formal white-pillared mansion, the de Menils got Philip Johnson to do them a sprawling, one-level house. The most conservative of the children, and the most involved with family tradition, he uses - in France - his title, Baron, bestowed on the de Menil family by Napoleon. Their Georgian town house of brick and marble, while more for-mally ordered than the digs of the others, serves as a setting for high-caliber contemporary art, and is one of the Upper East Side's more elegant private dwellings. Early in 1969, the de Menils transferred their patronage from St. Thomas to Rice University, a secular, science-oriented school then beginning to branch out into the liberal arts. Although family members say that the decline has affected them ''minimally,'' Dominique de Menil notes, ''A lot has been eroded. Designed by the architect Charles Gwathmey and built at a reported cost of $6 million, the house - called ''Toad Hall'' by its owner - is a fantasy version of a luxury ocean liner, with a three-story greenhouse, screening room, game room, exercise salon, wine cellar and the obligatory swimming pool. Meanwhile, grandiosity and the Schlumberger stock slide have caused the serious foundering of the Dia Foundation, established by Philippa and Heiner Friedrich, to support the ambitious projects of several hand-picked artists. Eventually - despite their contributions of time and art - their ambitious projects brought them into conflict with budget-minded trustees. Leland, a civil-rights and antiwar activist who was studying to be a pharmacist at Texas Southern University, had dropped out to run the campaign of a black minister, D. Leon Everett, who sought a seat on the then-all-white board. Institute of Religion Accepts Controversial Broken Obelisk.. [27], 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. Heiner has helped me step out into life.''. And Donald Judd has gone public with vociferous denunciations of the foundation, which is now but a shadow of itself. Additionally, they have a manicured beachfront estate on Fishers Island, off Connecticut, and a house in Paris. Plans called for Bob Dylan to sing at the service, but he was unavailable, and a tape was played of John's Dylan favorites. [18] The de Menils supported Rice University astrophysics professor Donald D. Clayton for a two-week residence in Rome in JuneJuly 1970 for daily work with Rossellini,[19][20] conceiving a film about cosmology that did not advance to filming but that was published in 1975 as a personal memoir of a life discovering the universe. At that point, the de Menils began to drift away from the museum. ''He reminds me of my father,'' she says, ''with his strong idealism and willingness to undertake certain things that others wouldn't. It is named for the late Abstract Expressionist painter Mark Rothko, whom the de Menils commissioned to do 14 dark, meditative paintings that are the only adornment of the octagonal building. Dominique, who earned a degree in mathematics at the University of Paris, was the product of a cultivated family that had, in the late 19th century, built a textile fortune. A big show of the family's art collections was held at the Grand Palais in Paris two years ago. ''Each branch of the Schlumberger clan has a wing,'' Christophe explains. Today, while Dominique still administers the Institute for the Arts, and contributes to such programs as fellowships for graduate students in art history, the de Menil presence there has shrunk considerably. (An uncle, Jean Schlumberger, helped found the celebrated literary magazine Nouvelle Revue Francaise). Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak's most prominent disciples and successors in North America were Tosun Bayrak, Lex Hixon, and Philippa de Menil. Friedrich and his then wife Philippa de Menil, together with Helen Winkler, established the Dia Art Foundation in 1973. John liked to gather the interesting, the creative and -by Houston's standards - the outrageous around him: black activists, artists, poets, renegades of every sort. ''For instance, there was a big purple and yellow canvas by Leger, and I hated to take my friends through the hall where they could see it. Photo by Michael Schmelling Eventually, the de Menils and their entourage became so much a part of the St. Thomas scene that ''it became difficult to operate without stepping on one of their toes,'' says Father Patrick O. Braden, president of the college at the time. ''It gives us a strong family feeling.''. ALTHOUGH DOMI-nique's children function in somewhat lower gear, they also have made ambitious forays into - and even careers in - the arts. The work these artists made changed, or at least questioned, the nature of art: what it. '', ''I wanted a functional museum and they wanted great architecture,'' comments Dominique. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. John's assertiveness made itself felt even as he lay dying of cancer, when he prepared a scenario for his funeral. And in a place where modern art was still regarded with suspicion, these ''pioneer cultural wildcatters,'' as one Houstonian calls them, established one of the world's outstanding collections, mounted shows and gave works to institutions - adding insult to injury by bringing the artists themselves to town. She studied mathematics and physics at the Sorbonne in Paris in 1927-28 . Following the outbreak of World War II and the Nazi occupation of France, the de Menils emigrated from Paris to the United States of America. Behind that fragile, otherworldly facade is a complex person of very ambitious reach.''. They established the university's Media Center in 1967. And the approaching actuality still surprises her: ''It's a long way from my early days as a young wife and mother. [12] The de Menils filled their home with art and hosted many of the leading artists, scientists, civil rights activists, and intellectuals of the day. When they arrived there from Paris in the early 1940's, they were not yet as wealthy as they would become, but they were almost too interesting. ''But there were all these weird paintings hanging on the walls,'' she says. Casey Lesser. Coordinated by civil rights activist and later U.S. Philippa - called ''Phip'' by intimates - the mother of two, is probably the closest heir to her mother's ''spirituality,'' and has her good looks and unpretentious manner. Inevitably, John's impulse to control brought him into conflict with other trustees, notably John Blaffer, son of a powerful Houston family. "Les divers procds du film parlant". ''It was very grand and typically him,'' says Adelaide. Ironically, planned in a time of boom for Houston, the museum will be finished in a time of bust, due to falling oil prices. (Brought up a Protestant, she converted to Catholicism to marry John.) Designed by Renzo Piano, the permanent gallery echoes some of the architectural features of the Menil Collection, such as the use of diffused natural light, while retaining its own, separate identity. Essays and short texts describe the de Menils' collecting; their patronage of modern architecture; their promotion of film as an art form; their struggles . In 1930 she met the banker Jean de Mnil (who later anglicized his name to John de Menil), and they were married the next year. Hewing to the European tradition of millionaire radicals, they came to be Houston's most rewardingly subversive citizens, bringing maverick ideas to the provinces about art, politics and what to do with money. [26] 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. The foundation operates Dia:Beacon (est. Schlumberger, Dominique. In the dining room, 18 rare chairs by the Viennese architect Josef Hoffman surround a pair of tables designed by Gwathmey. It is often cited as one of the most significant privately assembled art collections, alongside the Barnes Foundation and the J. Paul Getty Museum. ''', Dominique's craving found expression during the couple's frequent visits to New York in the 40's and 50's, where they met Father Marie-Alain Couturier, a French Dominican priest who spent the war years there. They have sold off a good deal of it over the years, and diversified their holdings. During an earlier school board election, the de Menils helped launch the political career of Mickey Leland, a young black militant from Houston's grubby Fifth Ward, who is now serving his fourth term in the United States Congress. Inheritance (oil) 20th-century art Icon Link Plus Icon; Icon Link Plus Icon; Icon Link Plus Icon; Icon Link Plus Icon; Overview Newswire RobbReport When their children were still young, and Schlumberger shares were worth comparatively little, John and Dominique de Menil decided they would put half of their holdings in trust funds for each of their five children. Staff Interface | ArchivesSpace.org | Hosted by LYRASIS, Art and soul of GZ [ground zero] imams holy-pal heiress, 2010-09-27. [35], De Menil's final project was a 1996 commission of three site-specific light installations by Minimalist sculptor Dan Flavin for Richmond Hall, a former Weingarten's grocery store in Houston. They hated the result, and hid it away. The middle child is Georges, an elegant and articulate - if slightly stuffy -scholar of 45 who more or less oversees the family's financial matters. He later realized who had delivered the manuscript and wrote her a note.'' (Philippa's first name was changed to Fariha when she converted to Islam during the wedding ceremony to Heiner) and co-founded Dia with Helen Winkler in the mid to late 1970s. (To help finance this expensive venture, she sold a number of important paintings last year at Sotheby-Parke Bernet, realizing more than $2 million. The building, primly sheathed in what one Houstonian calls ''Protestant gray clapboard'' (probably a first for a museum in this country), has on the ground floor exhibition spaces set in a landscaped garden. With the guidance of the Dominican priest Marie-Alain Couturier, who introduced the de Menils to the work of artists in galleries and museums in New York, they became interested in the intersection of modern art and spirituality.
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