Africa - Menil
Africa
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The Menil Collection’s African galleries feature examples of masks, figural statues, musical instruments, textiles, architectural elements, and other forms of visual culture primarily from West and Central Africa.
An introductory gallery explores the shared visual histories between Africa and Europe after the 15th century. European imagery of the continent and its people, and representations of Europeans by African artists, point to a long, uneven history of encounters. The paintings, sculptures, and works on paper in this section provoke conversations about the corrosive histories of slavery, colonialism, and racism and foster a deeper appreciation for artworks from different African peoples seen in adjoining galleries.
The museum’s holdings from Africa include more than 900 works dating from the 3rd millennium BCE to the 20th century that represent cultural histories and visual traditions of roughly half of the continent’s 54 countries.
John and Dominique de Menil acquired some their first examples of African art in the early 1930s while living in Paris, the cosmopolitan center of France’s vast colonial empire. The monumental exhibition
Exposition Coloniale Internationale
(Paris Colonial Exposition) in the Bois de Vincennes, probably prompted the young couple’s purchase in 1932 of a mask (
mukudj
or
mukuyi
) from the Punu-Shira or Lumbu peoples of Gabon (then Afrique équatoriale française). Following their early exposure, the de Menils acquired most of the African collection between the 1950s and 1970s while living in Houston and New York. This period corresponded with African-led intellectual and political movements that culminated in the downfall of colonial governments. The same period saw the dramatic increase in the popularity and circulation of African art among collectors in the United States. As their collection grew, the de Menils enlisted gallerists and scholars to refine their understanding of art from Africa and to assist them with their art historical research.
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African Art from The Menil Collection
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Digital Publications
ReCollecting Dogon
Related Stories
Collection Close-up: African Art
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Related Artworks
Mask with European Pith Helmet,
early-mid 20th century
Ibibio or neighboring peoples
Figure of Saint Anthony (Toni Malau),
18th-19th century
Kongo peoples
Mask (Bwoom),
early-mid 20th century
Kuba peoples
Palm Wine Cup,
late 19th-mid 20th century
Kuba peoples
Crucifix,
16th-18th century
Kongo peoples
Palm Wine Cup,
late 19th-mid 20th century
Kuba peoples
Power Figure of a Dog (nkisi or nkisi mbwa),
late 19th century
Vili peoples, Yombe peoples, Woyo peoples
Female Figure with Child,
11th-17th century
Head from a Statue,
ca 900 BCE-500 CE
Nok culture
Figure,
20th century
Kongo peoples
Mask Representing an Owl or Parrot,
early 20th century
Yaka peoples
Bust (Iginga),
early-mid 20th century
Lega peoples
Double-Spouted Cup (Kopa or Koopha),
early 20th century
Suku or Yaka peoples
Shrine Statue in the Form of a Mask,
early-mid 20th century
Bembe or neighboring peoples
Mask,
mid 19th - mid 20th century
Kete or neighboring peoples
Male Figurine (Bimbi or Mukuya),
late 19th-mid 20th century
Beembe-Kongo peoples
Power Figure (Nkisi N'kondi),
20th century
Kongo peoples
Christ Figure from Crucifix,
16th-18th century
Kongo peoples
Figure,
14th-16th century
Bena, Mboi, Yungur peoples
Figure, possibly Representing a Hippopotamus,
17th-mid 19th century
Possibly Igbo, Lokaa (Yakö), or neighboring peoples
Figure,
17th-mid 19th century
Possibly Igbo, Lokaa (Yakö), or neighboring peoples
Figure,
17th-mid 19th century
Possibly Igbo, Lokaa (Yakö), or neighboring peoples
Figure,
17th-mid 19th century
Possibly Igbo, Lokaa (Yakö), or neighboring peoples
Figure,
17th-mid 19th century
Possibly Igbo, Lokaa (Yakö), or neighboring peoples
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