Why the Menil will close for eight months The floors need refinishing. And they have to be perfect. Photo of Molly Glentzer Molly Glentzer June 14, 2017 Updated: June 14, 2017 10:42 a.m. More Comments Print The Menil Collection. Photo: J. Griffis Smith, Photo Editor

Dominique de Menil wanted the pine floors darker, and darker still.

Steve McConathy remembers the day she selected the finish from samples in the lobby of the not-yet-opened Menil Collection in 1987. She chose a black stain so deep it would give just a hint of the wood's grain underneath. If you've eyeballed an all-black drawing by Richard Serra, Brice Marden or Sol LeWitt up close, you get the idea.