MENIL COLLECTION DIRECTOR DEPARTS FOR KUNSTMUSEUM BASEL

After twelve years as director of the Menil Collection in Houston, Josef Helfenstein will step down at the end of this year. He’ll head to Switzerland to become director of the Kunstmuseum Basel, according to the New York Times_’ Robin Pogrebin.

Helfenstein announced his departure just as construction has begun on the new Menil Drawing Institute, designed by the Los Angeles firm Johnston Marklee. With Helfenstein at its helm, the Menil increased its endowment by almost 54 percent and doubled its annual number of visitors. The collection also grew, with pieces by Richard Serra, Claes Oldenburg, Kara Walker, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jasper Johns among the 1,000 works that were added to the institute’s holdings.

“It’s a very hard decision for me to leave the Menil. I love this institution enormously,” Helfenstein said. “I think we have accomplished a lot, so it was kind of a natural moment.”