Rice University is located right in the heart of Houston’s Museum District. Whether you are interested in art, science, medicine, film or performance, there is always a place for you to visit. One of my favorite things about living near Rice is how easy it is to walk or bike to a museum or a new exhibition. One of my favorite spots in the museum district is the Menil Collection. The Menil, like all institutions in the museum district, is free for Rice students all year so there is no reason not to go! As a frequent visitor of the Menil, I am going to walk you through some of the main features of the museum and my recommendations for your first visit.
The Menil Collection is located about a 20 minute walk north of the Rice campus, or about 10 minutes by bike. The Menil has multiple buildings within a small neighborhood campus, including the permanent collection at the main building, the Cy Twombly gallery, the Rothko Chapel and the Menil Drawing Institute. I always start with the main building (Fig. 1), where a relatively small but impressive art museum collection has some of my favorite pieces, especially surrealist works by Rene Magritte and Max Ernst. Alongside the permanent collection works, there are always new pieces being added or moved around the galleries so it is always worth returning. The Menil does not allow any photography inside the collection, but bring a sketchbook if you want to take some of the memories back with you.
After visiting the main building, head right next door to see the Rothko Chapel — an important later work by the artist Mark Rothko, commissioned specifically for this site in Houston. Always free and open to the public, this building exhibits 14 paintings in a singular octagonal room to create a unique meditative space. Across from the Rothko Chapel is a sculpture by Barnett Newman, titled “Broken Obelisk” (Fig. 2). This sculpture sits in a reflecting pool and is dedicated to the memory of Martin Luther King Jr.
My last recommendation for the Menil Collection is the Menil Drawing Institute (Fig. 3), which is my favorite part of the Menil campus! The Menil Drawing Institute has two small exhibition spaces (Fig. 4) that rotate new shows regularly throughout the year. The Drawing Institute exhibits are always temporary, so make sure to check their schedules online and make a visit before the shows end. Again, photography is not allowed in the gallery spaces, but that is all the more reason to visit and visit often.
After your trip to the Menil, be sure to walk over to Montrose and Westheimer for lunch. The restaurant options in this part of Houston warrant an entire blog post themselves, but a few quick recommendations that come to mind are Brasil, The Burger Joint and Lúa Viet Kitchen.
-Mark, McMurtry ‘25 (Published 5/20/25)
