Schlumberger is still the global leader in well logging, and has expanded over the years into the manufacture of electric and gas meters, transformers, microcircuits, instruments and test systems for aerospace and other industries. Designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, co-creator of the high-tech Pompidou Center in Paris, the museum is so favorably looked upon by Houston bigwigs that more than half of its building costs are being met by local money. 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. [1] At Rice, the de Menils also cultivated their interest in film, working with such noted filmmakers as Roberto Rossellini, who made several trips to Houston to teach Rice University students and create television documentaries. [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. ''Each branch of the Schlumberger clan has a wing,'' Christophe explains. Christophe, a tall, graceful woman, who has a long history of supporting ''difficult'' art projects, began designing costumes for Robert Wilson in 1981. In 1949 they commissioned the architect Philip Johnson to design their home in the River Oaks neighborhood in Houston. Inheritance (oil) 20th-century art Icon Link Plus Icon; Icon Link Plus Icon; Icon Link Plus Icon; Icon Link Plus Icon; Overview Newswire RobbReport 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. The rest of John's and Dominique's estates would go to their own causes. Dominique de Menil, Quoted in Browning 1983, 37. Since its inception, the chapel has witnessed all manner of events, from high-minded colloquia to weddings, bar mitzvahs, a Sufi ceremony by whirling dervishes from Turkey, a reception for the Dalai Lama and avant-garde concerts. While the de Menils' collecting and museum-building activities have been enthusiastically compared to those of the great Medici patrons, perhaps a more apt contemporary analogy is with the Rockefeller clan, which entered the art field in the early part of this century. Georges and Lois de Menil have not lagged behind. There, surreal-looking dress dummies and women assistants with pins in their mouths share space with art by Cy Twombly, Yves Klein, Ralph Humphrey and John Chamberlain as well as furniture by the late Charles James, Dominique's favorite dress designer. Before, I did things for others, and now I'm doing something for myself. ''He made us greedy,'' Dominique says, remembering that the priest once appeared for lunch with a Rouault painting under his arm. ''The things I've collected resemble the sort of works my parents acquired, but maybe less broad in range and less expensive,'' he says, pointing out, on a hall wall, a favorite Braque painting of his father's given him by Dominique. At the suggestion of the Houston designer Howard Barnstone, who might be called the de Menils' architect-in-residence, the houses have mostly been painted a uniform gray, so that the museum and the bungalows together have the aspect of a small, but by no means unpleasant, company town. 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. I spent hours talking with John about world politics and philosophy. She has now turned her East Side carriage house into a fashion atelier. Millionaires are different from us, as everyone knows, but as a clan the de Menils are different even from their fellow millionaires, most noticeably in the unconventional ways in which they spend their money. menil? [1], The Menil campus also includes the Byzantine Fresco Chapel. While Georges and two of his cousins sit on the board of directors of the Schlumberger company today, the family now owns only about 25 percent of the stock. News Dia Sues Dia: Founders Try to Stop Art Auction. [1] Contents 1 Biography 2 See also 3 References 4 External links Biography [ edit] She was born in 1947 into a socially committed, eclectic French Catholic family in Houston, Texas. He was my particular nemesis. And she was surrounded by accomplished relatives. He remembers admiring a photograph by Henri Cartier-Bresson at Adelaide's house. 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. Spurred in part by the lack of a real arts community in Houston,[13] in the 1950s and 1960s the de Menils promoted modern art through exhibitions held at the Contemporary Arts Association (later the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston), such as Max Ernst's first solo exhibition in the United States, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, to which they gave important gifts of art. Her second husband is. ''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. 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. (5) Philippa (Anne Caroline Philippa de Mnil) (born June 13, 1947) - A co-founder of the Dia Art Foundation. The artists previously collaborated with the Dia Art Foundation, which was founded by Philippa de Menil (Dominique and John's daughter), to realise their monumental immersive light installation. ''It was the most extraordinary thing that ever happened in Houston.''. Not helpful? 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 . Inevitably, John's impulse to control brought him into conflict with other trustees, notably John Blaffer, son of a powerful Houston family. [10] They bought more than two hundred pieces from Klejman's New York Gallery. key biscayne triathlon 2022 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. Unlike the normal superwealthy, their pursuits do not run to clubs, yachts or horseracing. ''We even borrowed money to buy art. Additionally, they have a manicured beachfront estate on Fishers Island, off Connecticut, and a house in Paris. Fariha, born Philippa de Menil, . Though the building is not loved by some of Dominique's children, it is hoped that eventually the varied holdings of all of them will repose there, too. . Christophe, for example, was once chided by an East Hampton hostess for not showing up at a party. Back came a cable: ''BUY WHOLE SHOW.'' On the other hand, she can be imperious. 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. You can look up the words in the phrase individually using these links: philippa? I think they're inspired.'' which cannot be easily produced, fi-nanced or owned by individual collectors because of their cost and magnitude". They have four children, and collect modern and contemporary abstract art, including works by David Smith, Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland, Helen Frankenthaler and Jules Olitski. (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.'') ''Each of the children,'' says Adelaide now, ''would have preferred his or her own choice of architects, but after all, it is my mother's museum. . Yet for all her protests, her modest, low-key bearing conceals the drive of a captain of industry, and one of her associates says, ''The phrase 'steel butterfly' was coined for her. "[8] Piano's understated design for the Menil Collection echoed the architecture of the surrounding bungalows, which had been painted gray by the Menil Foundation, and featured a roof of canopy leaves that allowed filtered natural light to fill the galleries. ''Wasn't I there?'' A painter himself, he had been a prime mover in the commissioning of Leger, Matisse and Rouault to do work for churches in France. The day and hour were set, with Dominique's agreement. You can't just expand and expand. 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. The reunited family went to Houston, then the American headquarters for the company. Helped by Citizens for Good Schools, a progressive organization supported by de Menil money, Everett won his seat, along with the other three candidates supported by the citizens group. After his death, he lay in state, wrapped in a sheet in his own bed. Dominique de Menil (ne Schlumberger; March 23, 1908 December 31, 1997) was a French-American art collector, philanthropist, founder of the Menil Collection and an heiress to the Schlumberger Limited oil-equipment fortune. By the 1960s the de Menils had gravitated toward the major American post-war movements of abstract expressionism, pop art, and minimalism. Until very recently, Christophe also had a sizable house in East Hampton, but it burned down during Hurricane Gloria last fall. But as a friend notes, ''She is maybe not so much a collector as a catalyst who makes things happen.'' [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. John's assertiveness made itself felt even as he lay dying of cancer, when he prepared a scenario for his funeral. They helped make a black militant who hated white people into a humanitarian.'' ALTHOUGH DOMI-nique's children function in somewhat lower gear, they also have made ambitious forays into - and even careers in - the arts. 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. ''It was very grand and typically him,'' says Adelaide. The conflict, as is the case with most de Menil disagreements, actually reveals the strength of the family's ties, according to Ted Carpenter: ''It's like an Italian family arguing over the pasta. Anyone can read what you share. [22], Their most controversial action on behalf of civil rights was their offer of Barnett Newman's Broken Obelisk as a partial gift to the city of Houston in 1969, on the condition that it be dedicated to the recently assassinated Martin Luther King Jr.[23] The city refused the gift, sparking a controversial debate[24] that ended only when the de Menils purchased the sculpture themselves and placed it in front of the newly completed Rothko Chapel. "I dreamed of preserving some of the intimacy I had enjoyed with works of art," she wrote. ''It began to look more like de Menil University than St. Thomas. 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. 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. The enigmatic Friedrich quit New York, disappeared into a wandering, art-mad exile; Philippa de Menil, the embattled heiress, had long since ceased to exist. ''Not only were they considered radical, but really different. Philippa and her husband Heiner have made over a former apartment building into a townhouse. by Paula Newton November 11, 2013. by Paula Newton November 11, 2013. 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. Now it's a coalition of businessmen and minorities who run the city.''. When de Menil learned that a group of 13th-century Byzantine frescoes had been stolen from a chapel in Lysi, Cyprus, and cut up by smugglers, she paid the ransom and funded their restoration. Beyond the family, their influence has been substantial, too. ''I get that so much from my mother - decide what you're aiming at and strike out after it. ''She feels a museum is all about interior spaces. And she goes on collecting - though at a much slower pace, she says, because prices have risen so high. The foundation cut back drastically on its support of artists, began to sell some of its extensive real estate holdings and, at auction, some of its choice art works. (A question mark next to a word above means that we couldn't find it, but clicking the word might provide spelling suggestions.) He wanted me to be exposed to every aspect of their life that would give me a chance to do things for my community. 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. 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. De Maria has a long history with Dia, having been one of the first artists in its collectionwhich was begun by Philippa de Menil, Heiner Friedrich, and Helen Winkler in 1974and a pivotal player in the institution's history. [1], The de Menils, however, did not limit their acquisitions to modern art, and their eclectic tastes became a hallmark of their collecting practices. The public would never know museum fatigue and would have the rare joy of sitting in front of a painting and contemplating it Works would appear, disappear, and reappear like actors on a stage. As a trustee there, John was responsible in 1961 for bringing in as director the distinguished but controversial James Johnson Sweeney, former director of the Guggenheim Museum in New York. [31] The result was a museum that appeared "small on the outside, butas big as possible inside". 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. [1] She was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1986. 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. 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 . (An uncle, Jean Schlumberger, helped found the celebrated literary magazine Nouvelle Revue Francaise). ''It's Dominique's museum and it's important to her,'' Francois says. [32], Dedicated on June 7, 1987, the Menil Collection exhibits objects from John and Dominique de Menil's collection, including selections of African Art, a vast collection of Surrealist pieces, and the work of a number of contemporary American artists such as Jackson Pollock, Barnett Newman, Clyfford Still, Robert Motherwell, Cy Twombly, and Mark Rothko. 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. 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. 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. Though John was born to a titled military family, he grew up poor, thanks to the efforts of his father to pay off a relative's debt. she subsidized a lobbying effort on their behalf. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. ''What I inherited was my mother's craving. Dominique and John de Menil, circa 1967. The minute the cops arrive, they form ranks. Seven years later, John joined Schlumberger Ltd. Their backgrounds were very different. 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. De Maria had traveled to Santa Barbara for his mother's 100th birthday in early June; however, he went on to . Indeed, shuttling among residences in Houston, New York and Paris, Dominique has a heavy agenda. ''Dominque said, 'I'll take it,' and she bundled herself in a tacky fur coat and went trudging through the rain, arriving at Levi-Strauss's looking like a drowned rat. As it turned out, her parents, thanks to their holdings in Schlumberger, the giant multinational oil-field services company, were en route to developing one of the world's largest private art collections, noted today for its examples of Cubism, Surrealism, African sculpture, Mediterranean antiquities and contemporary works. ''I was interested in art, but shy and out of contact with the art world. 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. 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. 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. (Spookily enough, another dwelling she had built on the same site about 20 years ago met the same end.) Like the Rockefellers, the de Menils are distinguished by the variety and scope of their art interests. [6], "Shaykha Fariha al Jerrahi | WISE Muslim Women Shaykha Fariha al Jerrahi", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fariha_al_Jerrahi&oldid=1096401510, This page was last edited on 4 July 2022, at 07:16. The de Menils often personally recruited faculty members for the departments and brought many renowned artists and art historians to Houston, including Marcel Duchamp, Roberto Matta, and James Johnson Sweeney, whom they convinced to serve as museum director for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston from 1961 to 1967. Collectively, they have disbursed tens of millions of dollars for purchases, commissions and general support of art - contributions, to be sure, that more than occasionally have been attended by an impulse to control. '', AT 78, DOMINIQUE IS A HANDSOME WOMAN OF frail, unassuming presence, whose ''spiritual'' mien and austere garb evoke the image of a medieval saint. For example, use He later realized who had delivered the manuscript and wrote her a note.'' But when the artist arrived, she appeared for a moment only. They were an extraordinary couple. de? She began to collect work by contemporary Americans even before her parents did, and exerted considerable influence on their acquisitions in the field. [8] Over the years the family enjoyed close personal friendships with many of the artists whose work they collected, including Victor Brauner, Max Ernst, Jasper Johns, Yves Klein, Ren Magritte, Robert Rauschenberg, Dorothea Tanning, and Andy Warhol.

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