Photography from The Menil Collection: Curated by Wendy Watriss

Photography from The Menil Collection: Curated by Wendy Watriss
Dec 12, 2025 – May 31, 2026

United States United States — Art Museum
1533 Sul Ross Street
Houston, TX 77006

The Menil Collection presents Photography from The Menil Collection: Curated by Wendy Watriss, a major exhibition exploring the power of documentary photography to illuminate social realities and provoke dialogue. On view from December 12, 2025, through May 31, 2026, the exhibition gathers works by influential photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Larry Burrows, Bruce Davidson, Danny Lyon, and Charles Moore—artists who each found extraordinary meaning within the rhythms of everyday life.

Curated by Houston-based photographer and photojournalist Wendy Watriss, the exhibition offers a deeply personal interpretation of the Menil’s photographic holdings. Watriss selected images that not only reflect the strength of the collection but also the humanist vision of the museum’s founders, John and Dominique de Menil. “This exhibition,” Watriss notes, “was shaped by three sets of eyes—my own, and the de Menils’. It is a chance to reconnect with their remarkable way of seeing the world and engaging with art.”

The de Menils began collecting photographs in the late 1960s, when the medium was still fighting for its place within fine art. They viewed photography as an accessible and essential art form capable of revealing the shared experiences of humanity. Their early acquisitions, which later formed the foundation of the Menil’s collection, were guided by a belief in art’s potential to bridge culture, ethics, and empathy.

For Watriss, this project also marks a return to the roots of her own artistic journey. Alongside her late husband Fred Baldwin, she co-founded FotoFest in 1986, an international photography biennial that transformed Houston into a global hub for photographic dialogue. The Menil’s commitment to connecting art and social justice inspired their work, shaping both their practice and their community engagement.

Presented in honor of FotoFest’s 40th anniversary, Photography from The Menil Collection celebrates not only the enduring legacy of the de Menils and Watriss but also photography’s unique capacity to bear witness, question, and connect.

Image: Bruce Davidson, East 100th Street, 1966. Gelatin silver print. 7 3/16 × 7 3/16 in. (18.3 × 18.3 cm). The Menil Collection, Houston, Anonymous gift. © Bruce Davidson/Magnum Photos. Photo: Paul Hester


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