Art Institute of Chicago
- Hours today
- 11 AM – 5 PM
- Visit time
- 3–5 hours
- Best for
- Art lovers
- Founded
- 1879
About this museum
One of the largest encyclopedic art museums in the United States. Holdings include Impressionist masterpieces (Monet, Renoir, Caillebotte), American icons (Hopper's Nighthawks, Wood's American Gothic), and a Modern Wing designed by Renzo Piano. Read the full review →
Visitor tips
- FREE Illinois residents get free admission Thursday evenings 5–8 PM.
- TIP Skip Saturdays — try Tuesday or Wednesday instead.
Don't miss
- GALLERY 262 Nighthawks, Edward Hopper, 1942
- GALLERY 240 A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, Georges Seurat
- MODERN WING The Old Guitarist, Pablo Picasso
The full review
The Art Institute is one of three or four museums in the country you can fairly call encyclopedic. Its painting wing alone houses the largest Impressionist collection outside Paris — Monet's Haystacks, Renoir's Two Sisters, the Caillebottes — and its modern wing, designed by Renzo Piano in 2009, exhibits Hopper, Pollock, O'Keeffe, and Picasso's The Old Guitarist in rooms that are themselves worth the visit.
Plan a full day. The Thorne Miniature Rooms, often overlooked, are on the lower level and worth an hour on their own.