The Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois, United States

5Andrew Tsui 5:00 PM Jun 14, 2022

Among the Best Art Collections in the US
My friends and I visited this museum as part of a trip to Chicago for a competition. This museum was extremely vast and took us hours to explore (must've been 4+ hours), with exhibits ranging from modern to impressionist art and from various time periods and regions. We also visited the Cezanne Exhibit, which costs an additional $7 but is completely worth it for a chance to see many of the French, post-impressionist artist's works in one place. The special exhibit is located on the second floor on the opposite end of the building to the entrance and is extremely well labeled and decorated. The Impressionist, Baroque/Mannerist, Modern, and Rennaissance artworks displayed were extremely impressive and includes many famous artworks and works by famous artists. The American Art gallery/building was also very nice and contained works by JMW Turner, Winslow Homer, Thomas Cole, Whistler, Sargent, Mary Cassatt (Child's Bath), and Edward Hopper (Nighthawks), and Grant Wood (American Gothic). If you are into history/art, I would definitely suggest putting a sizeable chunk (3-5 hours) of time to visit this museum in order to gain a "full" experience, although the museum map provides a good suggestion of artworks to see if you are short on time.

4Midwest-JJ 5:00 PM Feb 7, 2023

Art great! Accessibility not so much
Great collection and engaging exhibits! We keep coming back when we can to avoid the "drinking from a fire hose" effect. On this visit, we were stunned by "The Language of Beauty in African Art." To keep our brains from overflowing, we followed that with "A Field Guide to Photography and Media" Maybe next time, we can see "Himali Singh Soin: Static Range." That said, the architecture (stairs everywhere) makes it less accessible than many art museums of similar caliber. On top of that, getting to the separate wings and divisions of the lower level requires a) multiple check-ins with staff for directions and course corrections, b) planning, and c) endurance for long walks. This is especially challenging for someone without an electric wheelchair, and I saw one man with a walker who clearly needed assistance. Also, plan at least 30 minutes to pick up items from the checkroom if you're leaving when others might leave (3-4 PM for us). Personally, I'd rather not deal with your stressing and creeping close to me in line. And please help out staff by telling them if you're claiming more than one item per check tag. They aren't mind readers and deserve transparency.