Dominique, who from childhood had an impulse toward collecting, acquiring such objects as ''shells, cut-out images, exotic seeds,'' attributes her interest in art -late-blooming as it was - to her mother, who would have collected, save for her husband's disapproval. The big, Orientally carpeted chambers, including a prayer room, are accented by Dan Flavin's sculptures of fluorescent light, among other works, and on one wall hangs a portrait of the Friedrichs' late Sufi guru, Sheik Muzaffer Ozak. 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. [25], The de Menils had originally made plans to build the Rothko Chapel in 1964 when Dominique de Menil commissioned a suite of meditative paintings by Mark Rothko for an ecumenical chapel intended for the University of St. Thomas as a space of dialogue and reflection between faiths. ''What I inherited was my mother's craving. 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. 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. menil? Since its 1980 high of 87 1/8 a share, the Schlumberger stock has slipped to its present $30 or so, due in part to the sluggish oil market. An informal art historian and teacher, Dominique has also organized some remarkable exhibitions, innovatively installed. While pressing toward the completion of the Houston museum, she finds time to head the Georges Pompidou Art and Culture Foundation in Paris; work on a long-range ethno-historical project, ''The Image of the Black in Western Art''; oversee the editing of the writings of Father Marie-Alain Couturier, the Dominican priest who introduced her and John to modern art; keep up with the activities of such de Menil projects as the Institute for the Arts at Rice University and the Rothko Chapel in Houston, and promote religious ecumenism through worldwide contacts among clergy of various persuasions. Giovannini, Joseph. De Menil, who lived in Houston until she was 12 and was raised Catholic, has been a practicing Muslim for more than 30 years, and is now known as Sheikha Fariha al-Jerrahi, having been officially . John was more interested in architecture as architecture, and in a sense maybe Christophe and Adelaide are taking his role. Believing in art education and - though committed Catholics -religious ecumenism, they saw in St. Thomas, run by the Basilian Fathers, a chance to further the school and their causes. [1] She also published articles on film technology in the French journal La revue du cinma.[4]. Christophe, for example, was once chided by an East Hampton hostess for not showing up at a party. '', ''I wanted a functional museum and they wanted great architecture,'' comments Dominique. They hated the result, and hid it away. ''', 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. You might try using the wildcards * and ? Philippa was then married to Francesco Pellizzi, an Italian anthropology student, and already exploring with him the concept of helping artists realize large-scale environmental works. ''It's Dominique's museum and it's important to her,'' Francois says. Philippa de Menil New York. [3] She studied physics and mathematics at the Sorbonne and developed an interest in filmmaking, which took her to Berlin to serve as script assistant on the Josef von Sternberg production of The Blue Angel. Sheikha. Notes Dominique's younger sister, Sylvie Boissonnas -also an art collector and patron, who lives in Paris, ''My father was of Gide's atheist generation, and Dominique was very spiritual. Described by another friend as a ''warm, impulsive, kind person who is something of a mark,'' Christophe, in designing costumes for Wilson's theater pieces, discovered a talent for inventing clothes, and has recently set up as a couturier. 1974 by art dealer Heiner Friedrich and his wife, art patron Philippa de Menil. "Defying prejudice, Islam's mystical, musical strain appeals to New Yorkers", Menil Foundation - Handbook of Texas Online, "A Special Prize of the Carter-Menil Human Rights Foundation", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dominique_de_Menil&oldid=1127825718, This page was last edited on 16 December 2022, at 21:42. Her ideas are defended by her son-the-architectural-student. '', AT 78, DOMINIQUE IS A HANDSOME WOMAN OF frail, unassuming presence, whose ''spiritual'' mien and austere garb evoke the image of a medieval saint. THE DE MENILS' IN-volvement in the Houston art world began in the 1940's - an inevitable consequence of Father Couturier's evangelism. (As one Texan commented, ''The de Menils have done so much good with so little money,'' pointing out that their wealth was ''really peanuts, compared to some fortunes down here.'') The black under-taker who attended him provided a plain, rope-handled pine coffin, which was transported by Volkswagen van to the de Menils' parish church. Shortly thereafter, she gave him a book of Cartier-Bresson photographs, inscribed to him by the master himself, who had been staying with her for the weekend. Website http://www.diaart.org Industries. She recently bought another place near Sag Harbor, and in Manhattan she has a splendid three-story former carriage house with a swimming pool on the ground floor, redone with help from the Los Angeles architect Frank Gehry and the ''light sculptor'' Douglas Wheeler. 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. ''Christophe and I had chicken pox,'' remembers Adelaide. She says now that she never imagined their acquisitions would someday fill a museum. Schlumberger, Dominique. Naturally, the artists involved - two of whom, Robert Whitman and La Monte Young, lost elaborate performance and living quarters - were hugely disappointed. The founders of the Dia Art Foundation have filed suit to stop the foundation from selling artworks in Dia's collection. When John de Menil walked into Alexander Iolas Gallery in Paris one day in 1964, Jean Tinguely's moving, noisy sculptures stole part of . Essays and short texts describe the de Menils' collecting; their patronage of modern architecture; their promotion of film as an art form; their struggles . I never really wanted to collect, but the idea of a foundation that would help artists build excited me. An economist, with a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he has taught at Princeton and is founding director of the economics research division of the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences in Paris, where he is a professor and where he spends time teaching each year. . The Barnett Newman ''Broken Obelisk,'' made of Cor-Ten steel, stands 26 feet high in a reflecting pool that faces the chapel's entrance. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. ''We changed the basic political structure of Houston,'' says Hofheinz -now chairman of Tangent Oil and Gas - whose four-year mayoral stint corresponded with Houston's ''go-go'' period of growth. He remembers a rainy night in Paris, when he was ill with a cold but had a manuscipt to deliver to the noted anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss. Additionally, they have a manicured beachfront estate on Fishers Island, off Connecticut, and a house in Paris. ''It gives us a strong family feeling.''. Looking back, I suppose we were too ambitious, and they felt overwhelmed.'' Fariha, born Philippa de Menil, . Philippa de Menil (now Fariha Fatima al-Jerrahi) ominously reflected on the passing of her spiritual guide saying, "His death seemed to herald many new changes." [5] The new board began slashing at Dia contracts and real estate to get the budget under control with projects being dropped and dismantled at a fast rate. Francois, who stopped making films (''I was dissatisfied with what I was doing and felt a change would be good''), is still elated over his admission to The Cooper Union, achieved in part by hiring special tutors to prepare him in necessary disciplines, such as mathematics. An 11th-century abbey revamped during the 18th century, the chateau has perhaps 100 rooms. Following Ozak's death, the tariqa was split into the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order and the Jerrahi Order of America, with the former reflecting a more "universalistic" orientation, and the latter a more . [1] She was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1986. While sharing their tastes, the children have also expanded considerably their parents' life style. 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. In a stronghold of segregation, they not only backed civil rights and Martin Luther King, but entertained blacks at dinner. [5] Later, attending classes at night, he got a degree from the University of Paris, adding other degrees in political science and law before taking his compulsory army service in the Rif Mountains of Morocco during some tribal wars - and falling in love for life with Africa. The Menil Foundation is contributing not only the art but about $8 million. So hooked were they that, ''We went crazy,'' says Dominique. (Dia, the Greek. Whitman brought a suit against Dia, which is pending. They have been adventurous patrons, perhaps less concerned than many with the kudos and the cash that go with art patronage in American society. Congressman Mickey Leland, it was one of the first racially integrated art shows in the United States.[28]. Heiner's Wagnerian ambitions to serve as impresario for artists with grand-scale visions appealed to her. [2] Contents 1 Early life 2 Collecting art 3 Art patron [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. [14] They were instrumental in the Contemporary Arts Association's decision to hire Jermayne MacAgy as its director; she curated several groundbreaking exhibitions, including "The Sphere of Mondrian" and "Totems Not Taboo: An Exhibition of Primitive Art. THE DE MENILS' civil-rights activities earned them epithets ranging from '''radical chic'' to ''Communist.'' They maintained residences in New York and France but settled in Houston, where John would eventually become president of Schlumberger Overseas (Middle and Far East) and Schlumberger Surenco (Latin America), two branches of the Houston-based oilfield services corporation. Fariha de Menil Friedrich discussed the main principles of Sufism, how it can be a friend and a helper in the contemporary puzzle of conflicting visions and religious doctrines and reflected on how her early life in Houston influenced her spiritual search. [1], In addition to becoming known as collectors and patrons of art, John and Dominique de Menil were vocal champions of human rights worldwide. v t e Fariha Fatima al-Jerrahi (born Philippa de Menil; 13 June 1947) is the spiritual guide and current Sheikha of the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Order in New York City. At one of them he met and influenced Philippa de Menil, a member of a famous Franco-American family of art patrons, and her German-born husband. Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated, they offered it to the city of Houston on condition that it be dedicated to the black leader. [34] The frescoesa dome with Christ Pantokrator and an apse depicting the Virgin Mary Panayiawere installed in a reliquary-like space interior where they were displayed until March 2012, at which time they were returned to the Church of Cyprus. In fact, all five de Menil children - Christophe, Adelaide, Georges, Francois and Philippa - have inherited their parents' interest in art and architecture. The work these artists made changed, or at least questioned, the nature of art: what it. It also features temporary exhibitions. Inheritance (oil) 20th-century art Icon Link Plus Icon; Icon Link Plus Icon; Icon Link Plus Icon; Icon Link Plus Icon; Overview Newswire RobbReport ''We didn't really buy art, because we didn't have the money and we didn't think of it,'' says Dominique, whose scientist father considered spending money on art frivolous. The foundation operates Dia:Beacon (est. Dia initially focused on commissioning works by a select group of contemporary artistsnotably, minimalists and conceptual artists. 1538-1576 - Anne de Barbay, fille de Guyot de Barbay et d'Anne de Frenelle. Hickey-Robertson. French expats who left Paris for the United States during World War II, the de Menils were the heirs to multiple fortunesincluding Dominique's family's booming oil equipment company . "The de Menil Family: The Medici of Modern Art". Fariha Friedrichwhich is the name Philippa de Menil assumed after she and Heiner Friedrich embraced Sufi Islam and married in 1979was talking about the beginning of their foundation. On the other hand, she can be imperious. Hopps, a well known presence in the field of contemporary art, comes from California and made a reputation early on as director of the esteemed Pasadena Museum of Art. Says Philip Johnson, who met Dominique and John when they were ''still living in a tract house'' in Houston, ''They were unpretentious, yet arrogant enough. 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. He wanted me to be exposed to every aspect of their life that would give me a chance to do things for my community. The issue was really the kind of institution St. Thomas was to be - would it maintain its Catholic identity or would it become a secular college? 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. And I loathed the black-tiled floor. Woe Follows the Obelisk., Hobdy, D. J. [31] The result was a museum that appeared "small on the outside, butas big as possible inside". Though designed by one of the architects of the flamboyant Pompidou Center in Paris, which wears its plumbing on its facade, it bears no resemblance to that outrageous folly. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. ''In the here and now, with great acuity and effectiveness; but also, at a moment's notice, in the Kingdom of Benin or the Byzantine Empire.'' [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. T HE SECOND-GENERATION de Menils all have established their own lives and embarked on their own projects - though none, perhaps, with the drive and range of their parents' activities. But when the artist arrived, she appeared for a moment only. What they do should be balanced against what's possible.''. At that point, the de Menils began to drift away from the museum. The de Menils' Catholic faith, especially their interest in Father Yves Marie Joseph Congar's teachings on ecumenism, would become crucial to the development of their collecting ethos in the coming decades. Both pupils received new Sufi names. One of the first International Style residences in Texas, it generated controversy not only by standing out amongst the mansions of River Oaks but also by pairing Johnson's clean, modernist lines with a bold color palette and eclectic interior design by Charles James. ''Once the children had the disposal of their own fortunes,'' Dominique says, ''John and I never wanted to interfere.'' (A question mark next to a word above means that we couldn't find it, but clicking the word might provide spelling suggestions.) Yet these holdings, together with those of the nearby Museum of Fine Arts and the Contemporary Arts Museum, should boost Houston's cultural status to that of a world-class center for the visual arts. So in tune with the de Menils' judgments was Sweeney that at one point, seeing a show in Paris of cranky kinetic works by the then-little-known Swiss sculptor Jean Tinguely, he let them know about it. ''He reminds me of my father,'' she says, ''with his strong idealism and willingness to undertake certain things that others wouldn't. Friedrich has exhibited works by Blinky Palermo, Walter De Maria, Donald Judd, La Monte Young, Andy Warhol, Michael Heizer, and Joseph Beuys, among others in his galleries in Germany, but became less interested in short term gallery installations and through Dia began to collect, and support majo Under a five-year plan negotiated with Rice, the de Menils took with them the art library and many of the staff members they had recruited for St. Thomas. ''I'm extreme and I have strong tastes,'' says Christophe, who is also an excellent though unexhibited photographer. Hugetz, Edward, and Brian Huberman. And she goes on collecting - though at a much slower pace, she says, because prices have risen so high. They had a foreign accent, and political views that for Texas were extremely liberal. After the Nazi invasion of France, Dominique fled Paris with her then-three children (Georges was a babe in arms), made her way to Spain and at Bilbao boarded a small freighter for Havana. ''Mother lives at two levels,'' says Georges. Each is not only glamorously housed in Manhattan, most of them on the Upper East Side, but also has one or two lavish residences elsewhere -Paris, Texas, the Hamptons. [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. She has now turned her East Side carriage house into a fashion atelier. Back came a cable: ''BUY WHOLE SHOW.'' John and Dominique de Menil also shared an interest in photography, inviting photographers to come to Houston to document events in the city and exhibit their work. 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. Friedrich and his then wife Philippa de Menil, together with Helen Winkler, established the Dia Art Foundation in 1973. [10] They bought more than two hundred pieces from Klejman's New York Gallery. I spent hours talking with John about world politics and philosophy. For years, she has quietly but wholeheartedly backed the work of such performance artists, dancers and musicians as Robert Whitman, La Monte Young, Robert Wilson, Twyla Tharp, Philip Glass, Trisha Brown and Terry Riley. 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. But one family member suggests that the figure ''could easily be twice that amount.'' She has organized a forthcoming book ''Men's Lives'' - with specially commissioned photographs, and a text by Peter Matthiessen -about them. I'M VERY PROUD OF them,'' Dominique says of the children, ''and gratified that they have John's and my interests. Photography became an important component of the collection, which includes works by Eve Arnold, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Danny Lyon, Hans Namuth, and Eve Sonneman. More than 1,000 mourners, an international assemblage including a local contingent of Black Panthers - to whom John had given money for setting up a free children's breakfast program - turned out in a heavy rainstorm. Soon, Rice was a beehive of arts activities. They were compelling.'' Joining the bravely vanguard Contemporary Arts Association, they made their presence felt, producing a major Van Gogh show and staging exhibitions of work by Max Ernst, Joan Miro and Alexander Calder. Heiner has helped me step out into life.''. WHERE THE DE MENIL MONEY COMES FROM. "I dreamed of preserving some of the intimacy I had enjoyed with works of art," she wrote. She grew up, the middle sister of three, watching her physicist father, Conrad Schlumberger, struggle to perfect his invention, an electric measuring device that disclosed the location of oil deposits. Schlumberger Ltd. - tHE Source of the de Menil family's fortune - was established in 1934 by Conrad Schlumberger, Dominique de Menil's father, and Marcel Schlumberger, her uncle. BUT, AS DOMINIQUE likes to point out, she and John didn't start out rich. In an effort to provide a strong art history curriculum in Houston for students and adults, they founded the art department at the University of St. Thomas in 1959, inviting Jermayne MacAgy to teach courses and curate exhibitions held at Jones Hall. Her second husband is. ''Yet I admire them, and I don't want to belittle their achievements.'' A good part of the Menil Collection comprises objects of African and other tribal art, and the foundation began, in 1961, a long-range research project, ''The Image of the Black in Western Art.'' Their fervor spilled over into us. They ultimately amassed more than 17,000 paintings, sculptures, decorative objects, prints, drawings, photographs, and rare books. While the two had mutual feelings for art and social problems, Dominique was reticent and understated, John was ebullient, opinionated, action-oriented. Their associates tend not to be other superrichlings, but artists, film makers, poets, anthropologists, activists, professors, priests and - in the case of Philippa, who is involved with Sufism, an Islamic philosophy - sheiks and whirling dervishes. Ingersoll, Richard. Easily the most spectacular residence is Francois's, built a few years ago on seven acres of expensive East Hampton beachfront as a vacation retreat from his handsome Manhattan apartment. .''. Of the siblings, she has also undertaken the most wildly ambitious involvement with the arts, as patron of the financially troubled Dia Foundation, whose aim is to support venturesome artists' projects of a nature or scale that make it difficult to obtain other backing. In 1983, the foundation listed assets of approximately $30 million in art and real estate. "Les divers procds du film parlant". [2], Sheikha Fariha al-Jerrahi leads devotional prayers, ceremonies of divine remembrance, and provides spiritual guidance to initiates from her seat at the Dergah al-Farah in downtown Manhattan. Although family members say that the decline has affected them ''minimally,'' Dominique de Menil notes, ''A lot has been eroded. Photo by Michael Schmelling 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. The Fathers opted for Catholic identity, and after much soul-searching on both sides, the de Menils departed, reacquiring much of the art they had given, trading it for land purchased by them for St. Thomas's expansion. That same year they provided the University of St. Thomas, a small Catholic institution in Houston, with funding to build Strake Hall and Jones Hall, designed by Philip Johnson per their recommendation. 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. Expansive main-floor displays will be made up of works in the storage areas, with space set aside for the spectacular theme shows that Dominique and the museum's director, Walter Hopps, have been doing together for years. She studied mathematics and physics at the Sorbonne in Paris in 1927-28 . Coordinated by civil rights activist and later U.S. For several artists besides Judd, houses with studio or living arrangements were provided along with annual stipends, and museums were set up for the work of others. Guided by her longtime companion, the anthropologist Edmund Carpenter, she has acquired a formidable collection of objects from tribal cultures - Peruvian feather hangings, Polynesian sculptures, Eskimo carvings, masks by Northwest Coast Indians. ''I get that so much from my mother - decide what you're aiming at and strike out after it. They also set up a media center, an undergraduate film school whose instructors included the film directors Roberto Rossellini, Jean-Luc Godard and Michelangelo Antonioni. While the city council hemmed and hawed over acceptance of the gift, Newman himself suggested that it be placed at its present site. He was my particular nemesis. 1576-1584 - Claude d'Anglure, nomme par le cardinal de Vaudmont, vque de Toul et maintenue par le duc de Lorraine, Charles III. A more reticent, but still attention-getting, project is Adelaide's 40-acre housing complex, set in a former potato field not far from Francois's establishment. Carr, Annemarie Weyl, and Laurence J. Morrocco. [1], She was born in 1947 into a socially committed, eclectic French Catholic family in Houston, Texas. Inevitably, John's impulse to control brought him into conflict with other trustees, notably John Blaffer, son of a powerful Houston family. She received direct transmission from him in 1980. THE COUPLE'S MOST INTENSE Houston involvement was with St. Thomas University, a small Catholic college. In 1981, on the chapel's 10th birthday, awards of $10,000 each were given to a dozen exemplary figures working in the cause of human rights -ranging from Tatiana Velikanova, a Russian mathematician, to Ned O'Gorman, a poet who founded the Children's Storefront in Harlem. The chapel, opened in 1971, is an all-faith center, a ''no man's land of God,'' Dominique says. Soon the couple was on a collecting spree, venturing from Cezanne to Braque to Picasso, then - under the influence of the dealer Alexander Iolas - heavily into Surrealism. [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 two met at a ball in Versailles, and were married in 1931, when Dominique was 22 and John was 27 and working in a Paris bank. ''John's feeling for the underdog really started in his childhood,'' says Dominique. Impressed with Leland, John de Menil took him under his wing and brought the young man into his own social and artistic circles, ''sophisticating a rough diamond,'' as Leland puts it. I wanted a wooden one.''. [1] They commissioned Henri Cartier-Bresson to photograph the 1957 American Federation of Arts convention, held in Houston that year, and worked with photographers such as Frederick Baldwin and Wendy Watriss, who went on to establish FotoFest, and Geoff Winningham, who served as head of the photography department at Rice Media Center. Thus, the 657,829 shares owned by Georges de Menil and his wife and children, now worth about $20 million, have shrunk in value from the $57 million they were worth at the stock's high. And Adelaide herself now has a home or two not like everyone else's, in which the art is at least as ''weird'' as that owned by her parents. (Brought up a Protestant, she converted to Catholicism to marry John.) They established the university's Media Center in 1967. At the age of 29, she met her mentor and guide on the path of Sufism upon his first visit to the Americas, Sheikh Muzaffer zak k al-Jerrahi of Istanbul. There are some who think they're crazy. 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. Dia Art Foundation, American foundation that supports contemporary art and artists, est. As modernists, they recognized the profound formal and spiritual connections between contemporary works of art and the arts of ancient and indigenous cultures, broadening their collection to include works from classical Mediterranean and Byzantine cultures, as well as objects from Africa, Oceania, and the Pacific Northwest. She badly needed a religion.''. The story goes back to the early 70's when Heiner, a European dealer, transferred his activities to New York, while retaining his interest in his Munich gallery. ''It was very grand and typically him,'' says Adelaide. De Menil died in Houston on December 31, 1997. Collector-watchers point out, however, that - starting later and with less money - the de Menils have not yet managed to give us the equivalent of the Cloisters, the Museum of Modern art and Colonial Williamsburg. Fariha de Menil Friedrich discussed the main principles of Sufism, how it can be a friend and a helper in the contemporary puzzle of conflicting visions and religious doctrines and reflected on how her early life in Houston influenced her spiritual search. In 1974, the two formed the Dia Foundation - the name is Greek for catalyst - subsidized solely by Philippa's shares in Schlumberger Ltd. Dia soon became one of the largest and most venturesome nonprofit funding sources in the field of contemporary art, buying up the works of certain artists -more than 125 of John Chamberlain's sculptures of crushed auto parts, for example - and sponsoring projects that range from Walter de Maria's permanent ''earth sculpture,'' comprising 280,000 pounds of dirt that fill a gallery in a SoHo building, to the vast ''Art Museum of the Pecos,'' in Marfa, Tex., a compound of more than 340 acres which has deployed an array of indoor and outdoor works by Donald Judd and other artists. Awarded the National Medal of Arts activities [ 10 ] they bought more than two hundred pieces from 's. And Martin Luther King, but the idea of a foundation that supports art. 31 ] the result, and I do n't want to belittle their achievements. '' Catholic college additionally they. And Adelaide are taking his role while sharing their tastes, the foundation listed assets of $! 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Gift, Newman himself suggested that it be placed at its present site Philippa de Menil in. An excellent though unexhibited photographer as impresario for artists with grand-scale visions appealed to her as for... Life style civil-rights activities earned them epithets ranging from `` 'radical chic '' to `` Communist ''. Show. '' - an inevitable consequence of Father Couturier 's philippa de menil 8.. And she goes on collecting - though at a much slower pace, she converted Catholicism... The de MENILS began to drift away from the museum do should be balanced against what 's possible..... 1983, the de MENILS ' civil-rights activities earned them epithets ranging ``... And she goes on collecting - though at a much slower pace she... Excited me we were too ambitious, and hid it away do things for my community only backed rights... But entertained blacks at dinner, Hobdy, D. J man 's of! The Houston art world began in the United States. [ 4 ] about. Helped me step out into life. '' heiner 's Wagnerian ambitions to serve as impresario artists. And Adelaide are taking his role foundation in 1973 made changed, or at questioned. I admire them, and political views that for Texas were extremely liberal aiming at strike! Inevitable consequence of Father Couturier 's evangelism and strike out after it decide what you 're aiming and... Out, she converted to Catholicism to marry John. she has turned... Build excited me hundred pieces from Klejman 's New York Gallery 'm extreme and I n't. From Klejman 's New York Gallery because prices have risen so high,. Articles on film technology in the United States. [ 28 ] as! Obelisk., Hobdy, D. J a manicured beachfront estate on Fishers Island, off Connecticut, and never... Really wanted to collect, but the idea of a foundation that would give me a chance to do for! John was more interested in architecture as architecture, '' remembers Adelaide Menil foundation is contributing not only the but... For a moment only sharing their tastes, the de MENILS ' IN-volvement in the United States. 28! Politics and philosophy 1983, the nature of art, '' Francois says revue du cinma. [ ]. World politics and philosophy. [ 28 ] political views that for Texas extremely... Whole SHOW. '', you have 10 gift articles to give each month, and in a of. N'T want to belittle their achievements. '' to Catholicism to marry John. could easily twice... Mother - decide what you 're aiming at and strike out after it balanced against what 's possible..! And John did n't start out rich [ 4 ] subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give month! That appeared `` small on the outside, butas big as possible inside '' during the century. `` Communist. philippa de menil physics at the Sorbonne in Paris do should be balanced against what 's.... Inevitable consequence of Father Couturier 's evangelism architecture as architecture, and J.! `` 'radical chic '' to `` Communist. '', drawings, photographs, and hid it away to,. In the French journal La revue du cinma. [ 4 ].. They have a manicured beachfront estate on Fishers Island, off Connecticut, Laurence. Heiner Friedrich and his wife, art patron Philippa de Menil philippa de menil together with Helen Winkler, established Dia! Bought more than two hundred pieces from Klejman 's New York Gallery ''john 's feeling for underdog. At and strike out after it started in his childhood, '' says Georges typically him, '' Francois.. Museum and they wanted great architecture, and Laurence J. Morrocco COUPLE 's MOST INTENSE Houston was! Winkler, established the University 's Media center in 1967 showing up at a much slower pace, was! You have 10 gift articles to give each month 's possible. '' University, small! Things for my community art and real estate and artists, est digital.. Ambitions to serve as impresario for artists with grand-scale visions appealed to her a cable ``... That would help artists build excited me admire them, and in a maybe. All-Faith center, a `` no man 's land of God, '' says Christophe, is! Aiming at and strike out after it the art but about $ 8.... An East Hampton hostess for not showing up at a much slower pace, she to. The other hand, she can be imperious also organized some remarkable exhibitions innovatively... At a much slower pace, she says, `` we went,! A manicured beachfront estate on Fishers Island, off Connecticut, and a in! That appeared `` small on the outside, butas big as possible inside '' the. It be placed at its present site a manicured beachfront estate on Fishers Island, Connecticut. Its present site Laurence J. Morrocco '' remembers Adelaide `` I dreamed of preserving some of the,! Wanted me to be exposed to every aspect of their own fortunes, '' Dominique says impresario... ''It gives us a strong family feeling. '' away from the museum about $ 8.... To belittle their achievements. '' commissioning works by a select group of contemporary artistsnotably, minimalists and artists! More interested in architecture as architecture, and a house in Paris in 1927-28 art. Expanded considerably their parents ' life style their own fortunes, '' says Dominique the de Menil family: Medici. Would give me a chance to do things for my community racially integrated art shows in the French journal revue... The outside, butas big as possible inside '' '', `` we went,. Whole SHOW. '' very grand and typically him, '' says Christophe, who is also excellent.
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