Art Institute of Chicago

A Brief Overview

 * Original Classical Beaux-Arts building from the World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893
 * Approximately 300,000 objects in 15 collections in 273 galleries across 4 wings and 4 floors totalling one million square feet.
 * Second largest art museum in America after the Metropolitan Museum of Art
 * Notable for its collections of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and American Paintings
 * 1,846,889 visitors in 2009

History

 * Chicago Academy of Design established in 1866
 * Chicago Academy of Fine Arts founded in 1879
 * Art Institute of Chicago in 1882
 * First collections consisted mostly of plaster casts
 * Found permanent home in 1893 constructed jointly with the city of Chicago for the World's Columbian Exposition
 * Research library was constructed in 1901
 * 8 major expansions, the latest being the Modern Wing in 2009

Mission Statement:
Then: Certificate of Incorporation in 1882: the founding and maintenance of Schools of art and design, the formation and exhibition of collections of objects of art, and the cultivation and extension of the arts of design by any appropriate means.

Now: The Art Institute of Chicago collects, preserves, and interprets works of art of the highest quality, representing the world’s diverse artistic traditions, for the inspiration and education of the public and in accordance with our profession’s highest ethical standards and practices.

Educational Programs

 * Department of Museum Education
 * works with public and private schools, community and business organizations, and senior groups
 * Hosts approximately 2,000 school groups from Chicago and Illinois annually
 * 82,000 students a year
 * Maintains partnerships with local cultural organizations and Chicagoland colleges and universities.
 * Fosters an especially close relationship with School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC)
 * “Multimedia Finder”

Organization:
The museum consists of one art department, one publishing department, one education department, and one conservation department, as well as an arts library. The art department is subdivided into fifteen categories, which are:


 * African
 * American*
 * Ancient and Byzantine*
 * Architecture and Design*
 * Arms, Armor, Medieval, and Renaissance
 * Asia
 * Contemporary*
 * European Decorative Arts
 * European Painting and Sculpture
 * Indian Art of the Americas
 * Modern
 * Photography
 * Prints and Drawings*
 * Textiles*
 * Thorne Miniature Rooms

Contact Information
Additional information: http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/exhibitions/Ryerson/Making-History/2
 * Open 10:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. daily.
 * Thursdays 10:30 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Free for Illinois residents after 5:00 p.m.
 * Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.
 * General Admission is $25, $19 for students and seniors, and children under 14 and members are free. Reduced rates for Chicago and Illinois residents.
 * 111 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60603
 * www.artic.edu
 * Don’t bring a backpack; coat check is $1 per item.