Set on a placid campus outside the downtown bustle, the collection is housed in low-rise, unobtrusive buildings that inspire the kind of reverence with which the de Menils approached art. It is illuminated partly by natural light that floods in from leafy courtyards. Only a small sign identifies the building. No banners advertise special exhibitions. Inside there is no bookstore, cafe or auditorium.
Admission is free.
Reflecting the sentiment that art should speak directly to the viewer, no text blocks explain or interpret the work. The labels are small and spare. Works on canvas are hung unusually low, as if to encourage intimacy. No audio guide is available. ''To me the Menil is the Garbo of museums in its elegance and allure, and its seeming desire to be left alone,'' said Vance Muse, the collection's spokesman. The works, which the de Menils selected for their emotional power, are as diverse as they are moving.