Art Institute of Chicago: Difference between revisions

{{short description|Art museum and school in Chicago, United States}}

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The '''Art Institute of Chicago''', founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest [[art museums]] in the United States. It is based in the [[Art Institute of Chicago Building]] in [[Chicago]]'s [[Grant Park (Chicago)|Grant Park]]. Internationally recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, itsIts collection, stewarded by 11 curatorial departments, is encyclopedic, and includes works such as [[Georges Seurat]]'s [[A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte|''A Sunday on La Grande Jatte'']], [[Pablo Picasso]]'s ''[[The Old Guitarist]]'', [[Edward Hopper]]'s ''[[Nighthawks (painting)|Nighthawks]]'', and [[Grant Wood]]'s ''[[American Gothic]]''. Its permanent collection of nearly 300,000 works of art is augmented by more than 30 special exhibitions mounted yearly that illuminate aspects of the collection and present curatorial and scientific research.

The growth of the collection has warranted several additions to the museum's 1893 building, which was constructed for the 1893 [[World's Columbian Exposition]]. Theand, mostdue recentto expansion,the growth of the collection, several additions have occurred since. The Modern Wing, designed by [[Renzo Piano]], is the most recent expansion, and when it opened in 2009 andit increased the museum's footprint to nearly one million square feet,. This makingmade it the second largest art museum in the United States, after the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] in [[New York City]].<ref name="secondlargest">{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/arts/design/14inst.html?ref=design| title=A Grand and Intimate Modern Art Trove| date=May 13, 2009| newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| first=Roberta| last=Smith| access-date=2011-06-13}}</ref>

The Art Institute is associated with the [[School of the Art Institute of Chicago]], a leading art school, making it one of the few remaining unified arts institutions in the United States.

The museum purchased ''Nighthawks'' in 1942 for $3,000;<ref name="artic.edu">{{cite web| url=http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/exhibitions/hopper/nighthawks| title=Nighthawks| website=Art Institute of Chicago}}</ref><ref>The sale was recorded by Josephine Hopper as follows, in volume II, p. 95 of her and Edward's journal of his art: "May 13, '42: Chicago Art Institute - 3,000 + return of Compartment C in exchange as part payment. 1,000 - 1/3 = 2,000." See Deborah Lyons, ''Edward Hopper: A Journal of His Work'' New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1997, p. 63.</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/museums/art-institute-of-chicago.htm#highlights| title=Art Institute of Chicago| website=visual-arts-cork.com}}</ref> its acquisition "launched" the painting into "immense popular recognition".<ref name="Levin">{{cite journal| year=1996| title=Edward Hopper's ''Nighthawks'', Surrealism, and the War| journal=Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies| volume=22| issue=2| pages=180–195 at 189, 193–194| doi=10.2307/4104321| last=Levin| first=Gail| jstor=4104321}}</ref> Considered an "icon of American culture",<ref name="artic.edu" /><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2007/hopper/acloserlooka.shtm| title=Edward Hopper| year=2006| publisher=National Gallery of Art| work=A Closer Look| access-date=2013-04-30| archive-date=2013-03-12| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130312194016/http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2007/hopper/acloserlooka.shtm| url-status=dead}}</ref> ''[[Nighthawks (painting)|Nighthawks]]'' is perhaps Hopper's most famous painting, and one of the most recognizable images in [[Visual art of the United States|American art]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/111628| title=About This Artwork: Nighthawks, 1942| website=Art Institute of Chicago| access-date=2013-05-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite episode| url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1151228| title=Present at the Creation: Edward Hopper's Nighthawks| date=2002-10-07| network=NPR| series=[[Morning Edition]]| last=Simon| first=Scott| access-date=10 September 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601074856/http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/nighthawks/|archive-date=2013-06-01| url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| title=The Art Institute of Chicago, 20th-Century: Painting and Sculpture| publisher=Hudson Hills| year=1996| isbn=978-0-8655-9096-0| first=James N.| last=Wood}}</ref> Also well known, ''American Gothic'' has been in the museum's collection since 1930 and was only loaned outside of North America for the first time in 2016.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/6565?search_no=1&index=0| title=American Gothic| website=Art Institute of Chicago| access-date=2016-08-03}}</ref> Wood's painting depicts what has been called "the most famous couple in the world", a dour, rural-American, father and daughter. It was entered into a contest at the Art Institute in 1930, and although not a favorite of some, it won a medal and was acquired by the museum.<ref name="fineman">Fineman, Mia (June 8, 2005). [http://www.slate.com/id/2120494/ "The Most Famous Farm Couple in the World: Why American Gothic still fascinates"]. ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]''.</ref><ref name="about">{{cite web| url=http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/6565| title=About This Artwork: American Gothic| website=Art Institute of Chicago| access-date=June 20, 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528093948/http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/6565| archive-date=28 May 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On May 16, 2009, the Art Institute opened the Modern Wing, the largest expansion in the museum's history.<ref name="architecutre">{{cite news| title=Renzo Piano Embraces Chicago| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/arts/design/14muse.html| first=Nicolai| last=Ourossof| date=May 13, 2009| newspaper=The New York Times| access-date=2011-06-13| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513210441/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/arts/design/14muse.html| archive-date=2011-05-13| url-status=live| df=mdy}}</ref> The {{convert|264000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} addition, designed by [[Renzo Piano]], makes the Art Institute the second-largest museum in the US.<ref name=secondlargest/> The [[architect of record]] in the City of Chicago for this building was Interactive Design.<ref>{{cite web| title=The Modern Wing At The Art Institute Of Chicago| website=Interactive Design Architects| url=https://interactivedesignarchitects.com/portfolio-post/the-modern-wing-at-the-art-institute-of-chicago/| access-date=2020-08-06| language=en-US}}</ref> The Modern Wing is home to the museum's collection of early 20th-century European art, including [[Pablo Picasso]]'s ''[[The Old Guitarist]]'', [[Henri Matisse]]'s ''Bathers by a River'', and [[René Magritte]]'s ''[[Time Transfixed]].'' The Lindy and Edwin Bergman Collection of Surrealist art includes the largest public display of [[Joseph Cornell]]'s works (37 boxes and collages).<ref>{{cite news |title=Joseph Cornell's Works At The Art Institute |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1997-03-23/entertainment/9703230020_1_joseph-cornell-utopia-parkway-art-institute |last=Seaman |first=Donna |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=March 23, 1997}}</ref> The Wing also houses [[contemporary art]] from after 1960; new photography, video media, architecture and design galleries including original renderings by [[Frank Lloyd Wright]], [[Ludwig Mies van der Rohe]] and [[Bruce Goff]]; temporary exhibition space; shops and classrooms; a cafe and a restaurant, ''Terzo Piano'', that overlooks Millennium Park from its terracecafe.<ref>{{ cite news |title=A New Kind of Institutional Dining |url=http://www.zagat.com/Blog/Detail.aspx?SCID=42&BLGID=20948 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505234903/https://www.zagat.com/Blog/Detail.aspx?SCID=42&BLGID=20948 |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 5, 2019 |work=[[Zagat]] |date=May 27, 2009}}</ref> In addition, the [[Nichols Bridgeway]] connects a sculpture garden on the roof of the new wing with the adjacent [[Millennium Park]] to the north and a courtyard designed by Gustafson Guthrie Nichol.

==== Looted art ====

In 1996, heirs to Jewish art collectors Louise and [[Friedrich Gutmann]], who died in Nazi concentration camps, sued museum trustee [[Daniel C. Searle|Daniel Searle]] for the return of Edgar Degas painting's, ''Landscape with Smokestacks''.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-01-07 |title=COLLECTOR SUED OVER NAZI VICTIMS' ART |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/07/19/collector-sued-over-nazi-victims-art/aa497d49-f8c3-4ce6-99a9-cc82847760b3/ |access-date=2024-03-09 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web |last=Tribune |first=Chicago |date=1997-03-24 |title=FAMILY SUES COLLECTOR, SAYS DEGAS WORK STOLEN BY NAZIS |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1997/03/24/family-sues-collector-says-degas-work-stolen-by-nazis/ |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref> After years of litigation a settlement was concluded which involved the acquisition of the painting by the Art Institute.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dobrzynski |first=Judith H. |date=1998-08-14 |title=Settlement in Dispute Over a Painting Looted by Nazis |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/14/us/settlement-in-dispute-over-a-painting-looted-by-nazis.html |access-date=2024-03-09 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Landscape with Smokestacks – Friedrich Gutmann Heirs and Daniel Searle — Centre du droit de l'art |url=https://plone.unige.ch/art-adr/cases-affaires/landscape-with-smokestacks-2013-friedrich-gutmann-heirs-and-daniel-searle |access-date=2024-03-09 |website=plone.unige.ch |quote=The heirs of Holocaust victims Friedrich and Louise Gutmann, Nick and Simon Goodman and Lili Gutmann, filed a claim against the art dealer Daniel Searle. Searle was the owner of the painting “Landscape with Smokestacks” by Edgar Degas and was a Trustee of the Art Institute of Chicago, where the painting was on loan. The painting was allegedly looted by the Nazis during the Second World War. After four years of litigation, the parties agreed to share the ownership of the painting. The Gutmann heirs’ interest in the ownership was bought by the Art Institute of Chicago.}}</ref> A collection of approximately 500 objects from [[Nepal]], India and elsewhere in Asia that was donated to the Art Institute by trustee [[Marilynn Alsdorf]] in 1989 was later found to contain several objects that were looted; nine objects have been returned by the museum to Nepal over the years, while some additional items are still being contested.<ref>{{Cite web |last=CHERNEY |first=ELYSSA |title=She was the queen of Chicago’sChicago's arts community. But her collection now means trouble for the Art Institute. |url=https://www.chicagobusiness.com/arts-entertainment/art-institute-chicago-nepal-looted-art-concerns |website=chicagobusiness.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mills |first=Elyssa Cherney,Steve |date=2023-03-20 |title=Questions Shadow These Items From a Renowned Art Collection |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/chicago-art-institute-alsdorf-repatriation-origins |access-date=2023-11-07 |website=ProPublica |language=en |quote=Crain’s Chicago Business and ProPublica have identified at least nine objects once owned by James and Marilynn Alsdorf that have been sent back to their countries of origin since the late 1980s. Nepali activists — and government officials, in one case — are pressing for the return of more Alsdorf objects donated to the Art Institute of Chicago, saying they have evidence the pieces may have been looted and sold on the art market.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-22 |title=Investigation raises concerns over Art Institute's Nepal items |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/museums/ct-ent-nepal-looted-antiquities-aic-20230322-4y4vueyjxrebrk5v7f5lanyelu-story.html |access-date=2023-11-07 |website=Chicago Tribune}}</ref> In 2023, the [[Manhattan District Attorney]]'s Office moved to seize [[Egon Schiele]] paintings from several museums on the grounds that they had been looted by the Nazis from [[Fritz Grünbaum]], who was killed in the [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]]. The paintings included the, ''Russian War Prisoner,'' whicha watercolor in the Art Institute had acquired from an art dealer.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ho |first=Karen K. |date=2023-09-14 |title=US Investigators Move to Seize Three Egon Schiele Works from Museums on Claims From Jewish Heirs of Stolen Property |url=https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/us-investigators-seize-three-egon-schiele-museums-jewish-heirs-stolen-property-claims-1234679610/ |access-date=2023-11-07 |website=ARTnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-09-14 |title=Egon Schiele art seized in US over Holocaust claim |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66815694 |access-date=2023-11-07}}</ref> The Art Institute continues to hold the work, as it is contesting the seizure in court. According to its investigation, it acquired the watercolor drawing in 1966 from an American art dealer through a proper provenance from Grünbaum's legal heir, and it also argues that the claim is time-barred because Grünbaum's heirs were aware.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cohan |first=William D. |date=2023-11-06 |title=Were These Artworks Looted? After Seizures and Lawsuits, Some Still Debate |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/06/arts/design/egon-schiele-art-lawsuits-looted.html |access-date=2023-11-07 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Sheppard |first=Carrie |date=2024-01-17 |title=Art Institute fights to hold on to disputed Egon Schiele artwork |work=Axios |url=https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2024/01/17/art-institute-holocaust-painting-franz-friedrich-grunbaum |access-date=2024-02-01}}</ref> In February 2024, the Manhattan District Attorney filed a motion accusing the Art Institute of "blatantly ignoring evidence of an elaborate fraud undertaken to conceal that the artwork had been looted". According to the ''New York Times'', the court filing provided detailed evidence that provenance documents provided by the Swiss art dealer [[Eberhard Kornfeld]] contained forged signatures or were altered long after he came into possession of the paintings and sold them to other art dealers in the mid-1950s. Court hearings on the matter are expected in 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Mashberg |first1=Tom |last2=Bowley |first2=Graham |date=2024-02-23 |title=Investigators Say Chicago's Art Institute Is Holding onto 'Looted Art' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/23/arts/investigators-say-chicagos-art-institute-is-holding-onto-looted-art.html |access-date=2024-02-26 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

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