Double Vision

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ThefirstanddefinitivebiographyofthecelebratedcollectorsDominiqueandJohndeMenil,whobecameoneofthegreatestculturalforcesofthetwentiethcenturythroughgroundbreakingexhibitsofart,artisticscholarship,thecreationofinnovativegalleriesandmuseums,andworkwithcivilrights.DominiqueandJohndeMenilcreatedanoasisofcultureintheirPhilipJohnson-designedhousewitheveryonefromMarleneDietrichandRenMagrittetoAndyWarholandJasperJohns.InHouston,theybuilttheMenilCollection,theRothkoChapel,theByzantineFrescoChapel,theCyTwomblyGallery,andunderwrotetheContemporaryArtsMuseum.
Now,withunprecedentedaccesstofamilyarchives,WilliamMiddletonhaswrittenasweepingbiographyofthisuniquecouple.FromtheirancestorsinNormandyandAlsace,totheirownearlyyearsinFrance,andtheirtravelsinSouthAmericabeforesettlinginHouston.WeseethemintroducedtotheartistsinEuropeandAmericawhoseworkstheywouldcollect,andweseehow,bythe1960s,theircollectionhadgrowntoinclude17,000paintings,sculptures,drawings,photographs,rarebooks,anddecorativeobjects.
Andhereis,aswell,avividbehind-the-sceneslookattheartworldofthetwentiethcenturyandtheenormousinfluencethedeMenilswieldedthroughwhattheycollectedandbuiltandthroughthecausestheybelievedin.