The Art Institute of Chicago, IL originated in the year 1879. Firstly this school of art was established on the extreme southwestern part of the state as well as the Monroe Street. The Art institute gained its existence as a school and museum of art somewhere around the year 1882. This school and museum of art was sited at the Michigan Avenue and Adams Street, its present location, in the year 1893.
The Art Institute of Chicago as a museum of art is famous for the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings. At present this art museum of Chicago has a collection of 300,000 pieces of art. It also has a collection of plaster casts, European, American, and Asian sculpture, paintings, prints, drawings and decorative arts. The Art Institute museum also possesses a huge collection of photography, textiles, arms and armor, and African, pre-Columbian American ancient art. With a huge collection of human art expressions from all over the world the Art Institute exhibits art pieces that encompass a period of 5000 years.
The famous pieces of art featured at this Illinois Institute of art located at Chicago include Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges-Pierre Seurat, The Old Guitarist by Pablo Picasso, Nighthawks by Edward Hopper Today, some famous works of Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Paul Cézanne's. The famous sculptures featured at this museum comprise the Thorne Rooms, a great collection of arms and armor from the medieval period, as well as the expressive portrait of St. Joan d'Arc. The “touchable” statue is a famous attraction of this museum especially for the blind, and the children.
The Art Institute of Chicago is not only a museum of art but also a school of art that was started as Chicago academy of design in the year 1866. Ever since it's founding the school of art underwent many changes for many years. Classical fine art and architectural design was mainly taught at the Art Institute in the first half of the century. A large number of students took admission in the institute after the end of the Second World War and the Art Institute of Chicago emerged as the biggest art academies in US. New techniques of art and new artistic tools were brought in use by the artists and faculty to educate the students. This era marked the development of the trans-disciplinary art form and in this period itself concentration on fine arts was balanced by the introduction and development of liberal arts and design.
The graduate program run by the art school is counted amongst the best programs in the country. It aims to provide expansive education in the field of art including a comprehensive presentation of visual arts both by verbal and oral mediums. It also seeks to provide lectures, instruction, and entertainment including dramatic, film, and different kinds of musical performances.
Its mission is to promote and carry out activities related to the different forms of art that may be important for the development of art in the Chicago region along with carrying out art activities with national and international significance.
