The Menil Collection
Share
07/15/2026
Within Houston's humid, subtropical climate, the Menil Collection's layered landscape is a living extension of the neighborhood.
In the Menil's campus field guide, learn about a selection of plants you may encounter during your next visit.
07/09/2026
Throughout Mesoamerica, the jaguar was symbolic of spiritual, physical, and political power. This footed cylinder vessel—attributed to 600–900 CE from the Maya Lowland region in present-day Honduras—features three spotted jaguars with sharp claws and teeth, referencing rulers, warfare, and spirituality.
The top band depicts five painted scorpions that may be symbolic of bloodletting rituals, while a series of designs representing the Waterlily Monster, a fearsome being from the Maya religion's story of creation, are incised below. In pairing the jaguar with the scorpion and Waterlily Monster, the vessel's imagery may have served as an important reminder for maintaining balance and order between the natural and supernatural worlds.
The vessel is on view among other objects from the Indigenous Americas in the Menil Collection's main building. Take a closer look in the museum's galleries.
Now on view at the Menil Collection is Roni Horn, "aka," 2008–2009. The artist explores the mutability of identity and the fragility of place, time, and language. In "aka," Horn pairs 15 photographs of herself as an adult with 15 portraits of her as a child or teenager. The sets wear similar expressions, displaying the uncanny qualities of aging—the same person, but different.
See this new acquisition among a recent rotation of works from the Menil's modern and contemporary holdings displayed in the main building.
Click here to claim your Sponsored Listing.
Category
Telephone
Website
Address
1533 Sul Ross Street
Houston, TX
77006
Opening Hours
| Wednesday | 11am - 7pm |
| Thursday | 11am - 7pm |
| Friday | 11am - 7pm |
| Saturday | 11am - 7pm |
| Sunday | 11am - 7pm |
