The Art Institute of Chicago

1866

A group of 35 artists founded its first school in 1866

In 1866 a group of 35 artists founded the Chicago Academy of Design in a studio on Dearborn Street. The Great Chicago Fire destroyed its building in 1871, and the academy went bankrupt in 1879. In 1882 its successor took the name Art Institute of Chicago.

The president

Charles L. Hutchinson was elected the first president in 1882

The banker and philanthropist Charles L. Hutchinson was a director of many prominent Chicago organizations, including the University of Chicago. He held the presidency until 1924 and hired John Wellborn Root to design a building for Michigan Avenue, which opened in 1887.

1893

The museum's building was put up for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition

The Art Institute pressed for a lakefront building to be constructed for the fair and used by the institute afterwards. The city agreed. For the opening reception on December 8, 1893, Theodore Thomas and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performed.

Paintings

The American Art collection holds Nighthawks and American Gothic

It contains Edward Hopper's Nighthawks, Grant Wood's American Gothic, and Mary Cassatt's The Child's Bath. The museum purchased Nighthawks in 1942, and the acquisition launched the painting into immense popular recognition.

Modern Wing

The Modern Wing by Renzo Piano opened on May 16, 2009

The addition made the Art Institute the second-largest art museum in the United States. It houses the collections of 20th and 21st century art. The 68 Thorne Miniature Rooms, interiors built at a scale of 1:12, are on the ground floor of the museum.

264,000square feet added by the Modern Wing