Houston art patron Dominique de Menil, who amassed one of the largest private art collections in the world and who with her husband John de Menil, founded the Menil Museum and the Rothko Chapel, died Dec. 30 at age 89. As a major benefactor to Houston’s cultural scene, Mrs. de Menil was a frequent subject in the pages of Texas Monthly. Click on the archived titles below to revisit some of the newsworthy events spanning Mrs. de Menil’s most influential years.

April 1983: What I Admire I Must Possess
Dominique de Menil loves beautiful things and interesting people. In forty years of collecting them she has changed Houston. by Dominique Browning

January 1997: Whose Art Is It, Anyway?
In February 1997 two stolen frescoes paid for and restored by Dominique de Menil will be unveiled in a new Eastern Orthodox chapel in Houston. The issue of whether they belong in Texas is controversial—but the story of how they ended up here is downright Byzantine.