The Art Institute of Chicago

From Impressionist masters to modern mavericks

Noteworthy for: Founded in 1879, The Art Institute of Chicago contains one of the world's most encyclopedic collections of old masters and impressionist painters.
Word to the wise: Even seasoned art lovers can be defeated by the Art Institute's confusing layout, so pick up a map at the entrance.

Most cities would kill for an art collection as good as the Art Institute of Chicago. The second largest art museum in the US, it is considered by many aficionados to be unparalleled in the variety of its contents.
The sprawling collection – housed in the original 1890s Beaux-Arts building and a 2009 extension – contains a superlative range of modernist and Impressionist paintings from masters like Picasso, Renoir, Monet, Manet, Degas, Cezanne and Toulouse-Lautrec. The Institute’s other specialty is American painters and sculptors of the 20th century: well-known paintings such as Edward Hopper’s ‘Nighthawks’ and Grant Wood’s ‘American Gothic’ are on display here.

Attracting fewer crowds but equally interesting are design, textiles and furniture collections from the 18th century onwards, the Institute's impressive galleries of ancient and classical European, African, Asian and Indian art, and a wide range of photography.