Portland Public Library

Double vision, the unerring eye of art world avatars Dominique and John de Menil, William Middleton

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 659-725) and index

collective biography

illustrationsplates

index present

non fiction

Double vision

bibliography

990248397

William Middleton

the unerring eye of art world avatars Dominique and John de Menil

"The first and definitive biography of the celebrated collectors Dominique and John de Menil, who became one of the greatest cultural forces of the twentieth century through groundbreaking exhibits of art, artistic scholarship, the creation of innovative galleries and museums, and work with civil rights."--Amazon"Dominique and John de Menil created an oasis of culture in their Philip Johnson-designed house with everyone from Marlene Dietrich and René Magritte to Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns. In Houston, they built the Menil Collection, the Rothko Chapel, the Byzantine Fresco Chapel, the Cy Twombly Gallery, and underwrote the Contemporary Arts Museum. Now, with unprecedented access to family archives, William Middleton has written a sweeping biography of this unique couple. From their ancestors in Normandy and Alsace, to their own early years in France, and their travels in South America before settling in Houston. We see them introduced to the artists in Europe and America whose works they would collect, and we see how, by the 1960s, their collection had grown to include 17,000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs, rare books, and decorative objects. And here is, as well, a vivid behind-the-scenes look at the art world of the twentieth century and the enormous influence the de Menils wielded through what they collected and built and through the causes they believed in."--Amazon

Part one. The museum imagined -- Fanfare -- Part two. The old world -- A family château -- A protestant dynasty -- Return to France -- Foreign affairs -- Honor and sacrifice -- Monsieur le Baron -- At first sight -- Une jeunesse -- Horizons broadened -- A shared life -- Engaged -- Part three. War -- Drôle de guerre -- The debacle -- Landings -- Postwar -- Part four. New frontiers -- Home -- Nail hit this time -- The sky is the limit -- A big splash -- Worth the candle -- Nothing and everything -- Faith can be alive -- Part five. A very strong woman -- Aftermath -- What now? -- Other voices, other lands -- Toward a new museum -- Global visions -- A museum with walls -- From civil rights to human rights -- Byzantium -- A new generation -- Un acte final