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Exhibition-Related Articles

  • A black-and-white photograph of architect Bruce Goff. He sits facing the viewer in a three-quarter view with his chair turned from his desk, leaning back with his left arm on the desk, looking off into the distance. He wears a loose black suit with a vertically striped shirt and open collar. In the background are various items: hanging ornaments and lamps, a figural statue, and artwork along the back wall.
    A Glimpse into Bruce Goff’s Universe
    by Alison Fisher
  • An embroidered textile in shiny green and brown thread shows a gravesite with a rectangular stone topped with two unlike structures. Two plaques on the stone are embroidered with text, much of it missing. Willow trees and their leaves fill the background.
    Following the Threads
    by Isaac Facio
  • A painting shows a cat-headed figure and a large brown bear in a the branches of a pine tree. The hybrid figure gestures toward a flock of bird birds darting about the blue sky.
    An Offering to Beauty: Raqib Shaw on Paradise Lost
    by ⁠Raqib Shaw
  • Two paintings of seemingly identical subjects sit side by side. In each a light-skinned older man with blond hair, beard, and mustache wears a deep-black cape and feathered hat, silver gorget, and wide gold necklace with a large pendant. The painting on the left is shorter, showing less of the subject's torso.
    Imitation Game: A Rembrandt and Its Workshop Copy
    by Jacquelyn N. Coutré and Gerrit Albertson
    • Explore Our Stories

    Got a favorite genre of art or topic? Or looking to hear directly from artists and curators? Browse our categories to find articles and videos that speak to your interest.
    Conservation Exhibitions Perspectives From the Curator Staff Picks Contemporary Art Impressionism Japanese Prints Ancient Art Chicago New Acquisition From the Artist Interactive Features Highlights

    Staff Picks

    The creativity of our staff, whether writing about animals, eyes, and first encounters with artworks, wholly befits a world-class art museum.

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    Six Ways of Looking at Yellow
    by Ryan M. Pfeiffer, Christina Warzecha, Veronica Cajigas, Nicholas Barron, Anna Triska, and William FitzPatrick

    Our staff finds whole worlds in the heart of this primary color.
  • 1911 31 The Home Of The Heron
    Birdwatching in the Museum
    by Dan Meyer, Sizhao Yi, Violet Jaffe, Paul Jones, and Ryan M. Pfeiffer
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    Unleashed: Dogs in Art
    by Elizabeth Benge, Elizabeth Pope, Robby Sexton, Emily Lew Fry, and Chelsea Southwood
  • Eyes in Art
    by Ashley F. Arico, Ian Gordon, Katherine Greenleaf, Ryan M. Pfeiffer, and Giovanni Verri
  • Painting of a crowd of figures carrying candles and wearing white bonnets through which a woman is led on horseback holding a small, bundled child. The woman's dark-blue dress contrasts against a pale-pink sky. The figures stand so closely together that their hats form a sea of white. Many bonnets are illuminated like lanterns.
    First Encounters with Works of Art
    by Rachel Joy Echiverri Rowland, Lisa Kucharski, Ginia Sweeney, Kloie Rush-Spratt, Che d‘Arte Shines, and Christine Stringer

    • Videos

  • Frey 2016 Blue Urchin Detail 04 Press 300ppi 3000px Srgb Jpeg Video
    Artist Conversation: Jeremy Frey
    40:48 November 4, 2025
  • Hartwellmemorialwindow Thumbnail Video
    The Hartwell Memorial Window | Artwork Spotlight
    5:44 July 1, 2021
  • A sculpture against a gray background shows a female figure with conical breasts and elongated arms holding a drum on her head and sitting on a stool. The drum is almost twice the woman's height and has figures of animals and geometric shapes carved around its middle. A stretched piece of hide forms the top of the drum. Video
    Female Caryatid Drum (Pinge) | Art Institute Essentials Tour
    4:23 April 1, 2024
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    From Sketch to Stone | Canova: Sketching in Clay
    12:30 January 9, 2024
  • Three consecutive panels of peach, each containing a silhouette of a woman's face. The faces are featureless and composed of multiple cut swaths of brightly colored geometric and floral fabrics. The central figure wears her hair in Bantu knots. Video
    Gio Swaby: Fresh Up | Exhibition Stories
    4:38
  • Photograph of numerous figures in blue uniforms surrounding and touching the white frame of Seurat's "La Grande Jatte" on all sides, some on ladders, a red machine at center. Video
    Reframing “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte—1884” | Artwork Spotlight
    7:34 June 1, 2022

    • Conservation Spotlight

    Go behind the scenes with conservators and conservation scientists to uncover secrets about artists’ materials, practices, and even works thought to be lost.

    Conservation
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    Keeping Video Artworks Alive: 5 Must-Have Tools
    by Bird Nord

    The maintenance of video artworks is a complex process that requires specialized tools and parts, some hard to find.
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    Bugs, Seeds, and Surprising Conservation Needs
    by Jann Trujillo and Clara Granzotto
  • GCCS Entrance View
    Conservation and Science Take Center Stage in the New Grainger Center
    by ⁠Francesca Casadio
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    Sea Change: Uncovering Whistler’s Violet and Silver
    by Kim Muir and Annelise K. Madsen
  • Statueofyoungdionysosdetail
    An Ancient Survivor

    • Highlights

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    Check out some popular stories—from the recent and not so recent past.

    Museum History
  • If Carousel Horse
    Conserving a Carousel Horse
    by ⁠Cybele Tom
  • A decorative plate shows a blue-winged figure with the white body of a horse and the head of a man flying off a cliff's edge. A mostly nude woman clings onto the figure by the neck, red fabric in the wind. The overall color of the plate is a cloudy swirl of deep teal blue.
    Year in Review: 2024 Additions to the Collection
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    Love Story in a Porcelain Box
    by Sizhao Yi
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    Food in Art
  • Photograph in a gray art gallery of a large glass case with two large vessels in orange and black inside it, a podium with an iPad display at right.
    What’s in a Case?
    by Lorien Yonker
  • An ancient portrait bust of a young man.
    A Portrait in Two Parts
  • Early photo of two guard dogs and handler outside in the yard
    A Museum’s Best Friend: Guard Dogs at the Art Institute
    by Robby Sexton
  • Black and white photograph of a cow skull hanging on a brick wall. A woman leans against the wall, holding its snout in her right hand, her nose pressed against its side.
    12 Things to Know about Georgia O’Keeffe

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