Things to do nearThe Art Institute of Chicago

Founded in 1879 and housed in its current Beaux-Arts building since the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, the Art Institute of Chicago has grown into one of the most significant encyclopedic art museums in the United States. Its permanent collection spans more than five thousand years and includes paintings, sculpture, decorative arts, photography, and architectural drawings, with particular depth in European Impressionism and Post-Impressionism.

The museum's most beloved works include Georges Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, Grant Wood's American Gothic, and Edward Hopper's Nighthawks, each drawing visitors who want to stand quietly before images they have known from reproductions their whole lives. The Thorne Miniature Rooms, a series of intricately detailed period interiors at one-twelfth scale, offer a quieter and often overlooked highlight. The 2009 Modern Wing, designed by Renzo Piano, added bright, airy galleries for contemporary and modern work and a pedestrian bridge linking the museum to Millennium Park just across the street.

Beyond the permanent collection, the Art Institute mounts ambitious temporary exhibitions drawn from institutions worldwide, so there is almost always a reason to return. Lectures, film screenings, and family programs run throughout the year. The surrounding area rewards exploration too: the Chicago Riverwalk is a short walk west for an afternoon stroll along the water. For anyone serious about art, architecture, or simply the cultural character of the Midwest, the Art Institute of Chicago remains an essential destination.