My visit to the Art Institute of Chicago

Today I am going to tell you more about Chicago, this time about one of its museums.

Chicago is a city full of museums and it was impossible to want to see many during our one-week visit to the city last April, but I was certain about which one I wanted to visit if I only had to choose one, The Art Institute of Chicago.

One of the most important art museums in the United States among other things for its extensive collection of Impressionist art.

So one noon, after lunch with my son, we went to visit the museum which is located on Michigan Avenue adjacent to Grant Park.

The Building

These pictures of the museum building are not from the day I visited the museum, I forgot to take pictures of the outside of the building that day. But I did take some nice pictures the day I visited Millennium Park with my hubby.

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The building underwent an expansion and this modern wing of the building can be admired from the flower field of the Lurie Garden in Millennium Park.

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Entrance to the Exhibit Halls

We entered the museum through the main entrance on Michigan Avenue. And after buying the ticket. We climbed the stairs to access the exhibition halls.

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I wanted to start with the Impressionists. And that's where I headed. On the way up the stairs, I stopped to contemplate a huge stained glass window. The Hartwell Memorial Window, which was from an old church in Rhode Island until it was moved to the museum.

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The Impressionists

I already mentioned that the Art Institute of Chicago is famous for its extensive collection of impressionist art. And it is impressive how many works it has from this period.

Some of the most important impressionist paintings in the museum's permanent collection include Renoir's Two Sisters.

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The museum has one of the most famous paintings by Georges Seurat, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.

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There were several paintings by Van Gogh.

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Including one of the paintings from his studio in the South of France. The Bedroom. There are three paintings that Van Gogh made of his bedroom in Arles in the South of France. The other two paintings are in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the MusΓ©e d'Orsay in Paris. I felt lucky to be there in front of the painting knowing that I had seen all three of them once in my life.

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There were paintings by Pisarro and Toulouse-Lautrec.

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And many paintings by artists such as Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Paul CΓ©zanne and many more.

American Art

Leaving the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist rooms, in a hall of stairs is the painting Sky above Clouds by Georgia O'Keeffe which from what I have read is the largest painting on display in the museum.

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From there, I moved on to the American Art room because I wanted to see Grant Wood's American Gothic.

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But what I appreciated most about this room was being able to see Edward Hopper's Nighthawks in person. I found the painting impressive, it looks like a photograph.

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In the modern side of the Museum

My visit continued through the modern part of the museum. This part has a big hall with a very colorful ceiling of colorful panels. This side of the museum can also be accessed from the street, on Columbus Drive.

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The view of Millennium Park from the second floor, where I went to see the contemporary artwork, is amazing.

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Other highlights

In this part of the museum, there are a few paintings by the Spaniard Joan MirΓ³. So I had a feast because I love Miro's paintings.

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There were a few paintings by Marc Chagall.

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Also paintings by another of my favorites, the French painter Fernand LΓ©ger.

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And a few paintings by Picasso.

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Including one of Pablo Picasso's outstanding blue period paintings, The Old Guitarist.

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One of the highlights of contemporary art in the museum's collection is Starry Night and the Astronauts by the American painter Alma Thomas.

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There were also several works by Andy Warhol.

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And I could go on listing valuable and impressive paintings in this part of the museum and I would never finish the post ;) So let's continue with the visit, and don't worry it's coming to an end, hehe.

The Thorne Miniature Rooms

One of the rooms I had on my list of what I wanted to see on my visit to the museum was The Thorne Miniature Rooms. My son, who had been to the museum several times, had never been to this room and didn't even know it existed. He had work for college to do that day and during my visit, he waited for me in the cafeteria working, but we agreed to meet up to visit the miniatures.

The collection of miniatures of houses and church spaces that the collection recreates with details of architecture and furniture is amazing. The precision of the details and the handling of the light in each of the rooms is so impressive.

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The room was very crowded and it was difficult to stop to appreciate each of the miniatures. But the visit was definitely worth it.

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The Buddha

When we were ready to leave, my son said to me, you still haven't seen the Buddha which is one of the iconic pieces of the museum, so we went to visit the Asian Art room.

And there it was, the sculpture Buddha Shakyamuni Seated in Meditation. A 12th-century piece of art.

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The museum is impressive and I could have easily spent a couple more hours touring it. But we were already on time and had arranged to meet my husband for a Hotpot early dinner. So we went outside the Museum to find a subway station.

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The Art Institute of Chicago is a must-see if you visit Chicago and I hope to visit it again someday. I would love to tour without rush not only its exhibition halls but the different areas of the building which like many others in the city can be considered as an architectural masterpiece.

Thank you for reading!

All images and writing are my own unless otherwise stated.

Β© CoquiCoin

July 16, 2024

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20 comments

Oh, it is not one of the most famous museums in the world and yet it treasures well-known works by several artists. They are much more impressive when you have them in front of you, right?

I remember you once told me your attraction to Joan MirΓ³'s painting, so I can imagine how much you enjoyed that time in his company. πŸ˜ƒ

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The Museum is among the most important in the USA along with the Metropolitan in NYC and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and from what I have read it has one of the largest collections of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art outside of France. And that part of the museum is impressive.

SΓ­ amiga, I love MirΓ³'s paintings and I have surely commented about that before.

A big hug and happy day when you wake up πŸ˜„πŸ€—

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What a great place to visit. I have forgotten to continue visiting those in Buenos Aires, your post encourages me to continue doing so. Many works of art to appreciate ❀️

!discovery 35

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Visiting a good museum is always a pleasure even if you are not fond of art and Buenos Aires for sure has some good options.

Saludos y gracias por el apoyo :)

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Absolutely my favorite museum!!! 🀩 Thanks for sharing once again and make me remember the magnificent city of Chicago!πŸ’–
!LOLZ

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The museum is amazing πŸ’•

!LUV
!PIZZA

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Thank you for the support!

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Such a great place to visit.
It must have been amazing to see all those famous paintings up close. I recognise almost all of them.
Have a wonderful day πŸ‘‹πŸ»πŸ˜Š
!LADY

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Thank you, Jackie! Have a great day πŸŒ±πŸ˜„
I'm sure if you ever visit you will enjoy it very much.

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You are welcome 😊
Thank you!
Who knows, maybe I will one day.
!LUV

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They didn’t disappoint with the infrastructure or should I say the architecture….
I guess I’m trying to say it’s really beautiful both on the outside and the inside and ohh those portraits are definitely the silver lining

Let me put this on my list.

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It is worth to be added to your list ;)
Thank you for stopping by:)

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Wow a great museum to see so many different kinds of art. There are many artists I don't know of but you mentioned a few of them that even I have heard of 😊 Seems to be a place worthy of a visit regardless of ones knowledge of art 😊

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Absolutely! It is a top-class museum worth visiting even for those who are not very fond of art, for sure something of what the museum has to offer will interest you.

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you still haven't seen the Buddha which is one of the iconic pieces of the museum

Budha is probably the last incarnation of God on this earth, according to some scriptures , but keeping them aside, his story is very very interesting. And his famous quote is a life changer : The root of suffering is attachment.

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To be honest I know very little about Buddhism and the history of Buddha but I am going to do some research because I would love to learn about.

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I would cry tears of joy in front of those paintings. How wonderful, my friend. I love impressionism.

Bueno... y la obra de Warhol, Picasso, Marc Chagall,πŸ™ƒ Joan MirΓ³ (me quiero hacer tatuajes con detalles de sus obras)

Β‘QuΓ© bonita experiencia tuvieron allΓ­!

Namaste! You could not leave without visiting Buddha, good for your son. πŸ˜‰

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Namaste! πŸ˜„
Hehe, I love the idea of a tattoo with some detail of a Miró painting. 😍

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Wow Eli, what a privilege to have seen the artwork of such famous artists! I love the miniature of the Virginia Drawing Room, a beautiful and skillful work of art.
When I was in The Hague, my son and I visited the Mauritz House Museum. I have so many photos to still share one day but it's almost an impossible task. Like you say, one needs more time in an art museum to take in every room.
You certainly made the most of your visit to your sonπŸ€—

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And that's just a sample that to be honest doesn't do justice to the amount of beautiful miniatures that were on display. But the room was very crowded and it was difficult to photograph through the glasses.

I have so many photos to still share one day but it's almost an impossible task.

I can relate to that πŸ˜†

Yep, the ideal would be to visit a museum without rushing, but when we are tourists, we are always in a hurry. We always want to see as much as we can, hehe.

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Very good museum with lots to see in a day... the time I went there there was an exhibition on Roy Lichtenstein. I should have made the visit over several days.
Thank you for the photos of these superb paintings, especially in their Impressionist collection.
Have a lovely day

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A Roy Lichtenstein exhibition sounds pretty cool. But the museum's permanent collection is already phenomenal :)
Have a good evening πŸŒ™

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I don't know very much about art. I recognize and remember some of the names, and the art in your photos. If I ever have to stay in Chicago again, this may be on the visit list. Thanks so much for sharing. At least I got a small tour through your eyes.

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Thank you for stopping by:)
If you have the chance to visit, do not think twice. You won't regret it.

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Sometimes, I avoid getting into museums as easily, you can spend at least one day looking at artworks and diving into them... So, thanks for this "short tour" where you pick the highlights from your visit! πŸ™‚ I didn't know that it has such an important collection!


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Usually, if I spend a few days in a place I prefer to walk the streets and mingle with the locals and avoid the most touristy areas and museums unless I'm really interested in visiting them, as in this case.

Thank you so much for choosing my blog for Our Pick 😊

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Thank you very much!! πŸ˜„

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I love visiting art museum and I'm lucky too, Living in Italy it's a luck if you love museums and art 😍

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Indeed you are lucky to live in Italy with all the museums and historic places :)

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From your text I can see that you are a lover of art and painting, so I imagine it must have been very rewarding for you to visit this museum.
It is impressive how many paintings of renowned artists the place exhibits.

A place to visit more than once, no doubt.

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It was very rewarding 😊 And yes I guess if you want to visit the whole museum thoroughly, you need at least a week.
Saludos!

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It's so awesome that you get to see those paintings by very renowned artists. Thank you for walking us around the place through your photos.

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It was a rewarding visit, sis:)
Have a great day 😘

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Whoa, that museum is so expensive, seeing all those amazing paintings from some well known artist. They are all priceless as no amount can surpass their greatness. I never been to any museum but I really love to experience it 🀩✨

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I hope you can experience visiting a museum soon πŸ˜„πŸ€—

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