Art Institute

If you were to review the premier collections of fine art in America today, the name Chicago Art Institute is sure to come up. The Art Institute of Chicago was originally known as the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, 1879. Since the current building was first designed in 1892 for the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893 as the auxiliary building for the World’s Congress, it was intended to be used as space for the Art Institute Chicago subsequently and indefinitely.

The building itself is a piece of art, as the Art Institute is designed in the Beaux-Arts style by a Boston firm and offered up for the public in December, 1893. There have been several additions over the years, and there will be a new Modern Wing opening to increase the gallery space by nearly one third in 2009 thanks in part to the funding of Pat Ryan, executive chairman of the Aon Corporation and 1/10 owner of the Chicago Bears, and also designer Renzo Piano. It will feature a courtyard and a bridge that connects to the prominent Millenium Park.

Since 2005 there have been fifty paintings on loan from the Terra Foundation’s collection. This collection of American car has it’s own suite of galleries. The Chicago Institute of Art has a great collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art, an exquisite array of photography pieces, and Renaissance and Medieval suits of armor, as well as other armaments.

Some notable pieces that are to be found at the Chicago Art Institute are Pablo Picasso’s The Old Guitarist, Van Gogh’s Bedroom in Arles, and his Self Portrait, a collection of Renoir works, At the Moulin Rouge by Toulouse-Lautrec, as well as several of Monet’s pieces, thirty in all, including a collection of Water Lilies, and six of his Haystacks. Monet had a tendency to produce motif series since 1889, a family of compositions to which these two titles, consisting of multiple paintings, belong. A noteworthy detail is that Monet suffered from cataracts later in life as he was working on his Water Lilies compositions, he had a lens removed which allowed him to see UV light, which is why some of his Water Lilies have more blue color.

The Art Institute also features installations of architecture, and furniture models that represent periods of European, American and Asian design. There are Ancient Greek and Roman galleries, as well as Egyptian, including the mummy case that holds the mummy of Paankhenamun. It is the home of the Ryerson and Burnham Libraries, well know for it’s art and architectural references.

One of the newer concepts in visual arts is tactile pieces for those that are vision impaired. The Art Institute Chicago has a Touch Gallery for exploration, where any that should feel so inclined can experience art with their hands. There is sculpture of different periods, and many media, such as bronze and marble. Those that enter the touch gallery will experience new perspectives on sculptural art, including texture and temperature. All of the pieces in this gallery feature busts with different facial styles, expressions, and manner of dress.