My Kind of Town

m in i-tour
My Kind of Town
Whether you know it as the Windy City, the Second City,
or the City of Big Shoulders, youre sure to enjoy the rich
Chicago connections on this hometown tour of the museum.
Gallery 144
America Windows (1977) by Marc Chagall

The story of this visitor favorite began in the early 1970s
when French artist Marc Chagall came to Chicago for
work related to his mosaic, The Four Seasons, installed
outside Chase Tower. In response to the citys enthusiasm
for his work and the Art Institutes great support, the
artist offered to create a set of stained-glass windows for
the museum. After three years of planning, Chagall determined that the windows would
commemorate Americas bicentennial, celebrating the country as a place of cultural and religious freedom and detailing the arts of music, painting, literature, theater, and dance. Because
of his admiration for Chicago and its strong commitment to public art, Chagall chose to
dedicate the work to Mayor Richard J. Daley, a great supporter of public art projects.
Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room

(18931894) by Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan
Reconstructed at the Art Institute in 1977 after its demolition in 19711972, the Chicago Stock Exchange Trading
Room was designed by Adler and Sullivan to be both
aesthetically pleasing and useful for commerce and trade.
Called the Father of the Skyscraper, Sullivan adorned
Chicagos skyline with buildings featuring opulent and
organic ornamentation. This room combines elements of styles ranging from the decorative borders of Celtic manuscripts to the luxuriance of Art Nouveau, with a particularly
complex use of stencilingthe elaborate, leaf-like designs use 57 different colors. Youll
also want to check out the Stock Exchanges original entrance arch, located in Brooks
McCormick Court on the east corner of the Modern Wing.
Gallery 262
Sky above Clouds IV (1965) by Georgia OKeeffe

While renowned for her images of the American Southwest,
Georgia OKeeffe had many ties to our fair city, particularly to the Art Institute. She studied at the School of the
Art Institute from 1905 to 1906, and in 1943 the museum
presented her first major retrospective, purchasing the
painting Black Cross at the close of the show. OKeeffe
reciprocated with several gifts of her work, and after the death of her husband, the photographer and art dealer Alfred Stieglitz, she gave the museum his extraordinary collection,
which added over 400 objects to the museums 20th-century American holdings. This work,
another gift from the artist, is the ultimate painting in a series in which OKeeffe captured her
in-flight experiences traveling all over the world. Ironically, the massive size of the work has
prevented it from doing much traveling itself, keeping it right here for us to enjoy in Chicago.
Gallery 240
A Sunday on La Grande Jatte1884 (188486)

by Georges Seurat
Georges Seurats world-famous masterpiece A Sunday
on La Grande Jatte1884 is perhaps the most beloved
work in the Art Institute. With its color theory, mesmerizing pointillist technique developed by Seurat himself,
and enigmatic characters and relationships, this image
of fashionable Parisians enjoying a day of leisure has long fascinated scholars and visitors
alike. The work received even further attention when the high schoolers of Ferris Buellers
Day Off made a stop at the Art Institute during their day of hooky-playing adventures in
Chicago. Ferriss friend Cameron becomes hypnotized by the little girl in white at the center
of the work, seeing her clearly from afar but having her dissolve into dots the closer he
looks. (Travel back to 1986 with the movies museum scene on YouTube, and zoom into the
last dot of this renowned masterpiece on the Google Art Project.)
Gallery 211
The Assumption of the Virgin (157779)

by Domenikos Theotokopoulos, called El Greco
Hard to believe, but when the Art Institute acquired this work in
1906, no one else was vying for it. The gigantic painting was the
centerpiece of El Grecos first major commission in Spain, but
the Crete-born artist had become rather obscure in the decades
following his initial success. When the painting reemerged in
Paris in 1904, however, avant-garde artists, including a young
Picasso and American Impressionist Mary Cassatt, became
quite enthusiastic about it. Cassatt, in fact, petitioned various
American museums to purchase the work, and after 19 months of deliberation, the Art
Institute agreed. In time, the work regained its original lauded status, all the while continuing to win notable admirers. Ernest Hemingway, who visited the museum often as a boy,
recalled The Assumption inspiring him to write as boldly as El Greco painted.
Gallery 200
Architectural Fragments
Home to the first skyscraper and the White City of the 1893
Worlds Columbian Exposition, Chicago has been the center of
American architecture since the late 19th century. The skyline
still teems with buildings designed by such legends as Dankmar
Adler, Daniel Burnham, and Louis Sullivan, but this gallery at
the top of the Grand Staircase houses treasures from these architects great buildings that are no longer standing. The graceful
fragments include Burnhams intricate ironwork, Sullivans iconic organic ornamentation,
and Frank Lloyd Wrights geometric, nature-inspired stained glass windows. Chicagos
storied past comes alive!
Looking for more fun and fast ways to connect with the Art Institute?
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museum with our blog, ARTicle. Plus, make sure youre signed up for our e-mails
to hear the latest news on all our upcoming exhibitions and events!

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m in i-tour

America Windows (1977) by Marc Chagall

Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room

Sky above Clouds IV (1965) by Georgia OKeeffe

A Sunday on La Grande Jatte1884 (188486)

The Assumption of the Virgin (157779)

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