The Menil Collection presents "How to Make an Exhibition: The Story of Jermayne MacAgy." The exhibition, presented in celebration of the Menil's 40th anniversary in 2027, honors the impact and legacy of the late San Francisco- and Houston-based curator, art historian, and museum director Jermayne MacAgy (1914-1964), who was renowned for her dynamic and groundbreaking installations and innovative approach to curating.

"How to Make an Exhibition" will lead audiences through groups of work inspired by, or included in, some of MacAgy’s most influential exhibitions from the 1940s-1960s, from her time in San Francisco at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, to her work in Houston at the University of St. Thomas and the Contemporary Arts Association (now Contemporary Arts Museum Houston).

Displays will include nods to Illusionism and Trompe l’Oeil: A History of Painting That Fools the Eye (1947); Mobiles and Articulated Sculpture (1948); Islands Beyond: An Exhibition of Ecclesiastical Sculpture and Modern Paintings (1958); Totems Not Taboo: An Exhibition of Primitive Art; (1959); and Art Has Many Facets (1963).

The show will also include portraits of MacAgy that the de Menils commissioned from Andy Warhol, a selection of archival materials and photographs, and works of art that MacAgy bequeathed to the museum.