Chicago, one of America’s largest city, is famous for its architecture and landmark museums. Today we will go over the history and significance of two such famous museums that are renowned both nationally and internationally. These are – The Art Institute of Chicago and The Field Museum of Natural History.
The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the USA. The museum is located in Chicago’s Grant Park and boasts an impressive collection, that includes works such as Georges Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, Pablo Picasso’s The Old Guitarist, Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks, and Grant Wood’s American Gothic. Its permanent collection of nearly 300,000 works of art is augmented by more than 30 special exhibitions mounted yearly that illuminate aspects of the collection and present curatorial and scientific research.
The Field Museum of Natural History, also known as The Field Museum, is one of the largest such museums in the world. The museum is popular for its extensive scientific specimen and artifact collections. The permanent exhibitions attract up to 2 million visitors annually, and include fossils, current cultures from around the world, and interactive programming demonstrating today’s urgent conservation needs. The museum is named in honor of its first major benefactor, Marshall Field.
Field museum and its collections originated from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition and the artifacts displayed at the fair. The museum maintains a temporary exhibition program of traveling shows as well as in-house produced topical exhibitions. The professional staff maintains collections of over 24 million specimens and objects that provide the basis for the museum’s scientific-research programs. The academic faculty and scientific staff engage in field expeditions, in biodiversity and cultural research on every continent, in local and foreign student training, and in stewardship of the rich specimen and artifact collections.
Watch the video below for a visual guide to the Art Institute of Chicago!
All Around The World 