Menil Drawing Institute gala a warm-hearted affair
The new Menil Drawing Institute building put on its party hat for the first time Thursday. About 325 patrons, artists and curators celebrated Johnston Marklee’s thoughtful architecture, super-patrons Louisa
Stude Sarofim and Janie C. Lee, and the Menil ethos of art for all. This black-tie gala was more about thanking people than asking for money. Architects Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee, who have become friends with many Houstonians during the six-year project, expressed gratitude and joy. Menil Collection director
Rebecca Rabinow and Menil Foundation board chair Doug Lawing also welcomed members of the de Menil family, the many patrons who supported the Campaign for the Menil (which finished last December above goal at $121 million) and numerous artists and curators.
Guests wandered through scholarly rooms of the new building as well as the major exhibition “The Condition of Being Here: Drawings by Jasper Johns” before a dinner by Jackson & Co. in a tent. The Grammy-winning mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile topped off the night with a solo performance of evocative music.
Loving the night: Adelaide de Menil, François and Susan de Menil, Allison Sarofim, Christopher Sarofim, Aliyya and Herman Stude, Michael
and Nina Zilkha, Suzanne Deal Booth and LeMel Humes, Janet and Paul Hobby, Franci Neely.