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Photo shows a dark-haired young woman and girl in the foreground of a white gallery space looking at a printout while a young couple stands behind them, their backs to the viewer, looking at Jay DeFeo (Mary Joan DeFeo)’s The Annunciation, a large abstract painting suggesting large white wings with purple and teal on a black background. Photo shows a dark-haired young woman and girl in the foreground of a white gallery space looking at a printout while a young couple stands behind them, their backs to the viewer, looking at Jay DeFeo (Mary Joan DeFeo)’s The Annunciation, a large abstract painting suggesting large white wings with purple and teal on a black background.

Ways to Spend a Summer Day

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We’ve got a full slate of programming to keep you engaged and inspired all summer long. Join us for free daily art making, enlightening lectures, gallery conversations, and so much more.


#1 Go Deeper into Caillebotte’s World

Choose one of three member-exclusive lectures, offered June 26, 27, and 28, and gain new insights into Gustave Caillebotte: Painting His World. Featuring more than 120 works, including paintings, drawings, photographs, and rare loans, this highly anticipated show reveals the artist as a painter of private moments, personal relationships, and a uniquely modern masculinity. Register today!

#5 Stay Out Late

Teens—mark your calendars for June 12 from 5:00 to 10:00! Our annual Exuberus Teen Night returns with plenty of food, dancing, an open mic, teen musical performances, art making, teen-led gallery tours, and so much more. As always, this can’t-miss event by and for Chicago teens is free for all. Register today!

Four female dancers with medium-toned skin wearing elaborate costumes in dressed in jewel tones, striking a pose in formation.


#6 Find Inspiration Through Dance

Chicago’s Natya Dance Theatre performs in the Alsdorf Galleries August 2 at 12:00, amplifying the spirit of Raqib Shaw’s 21-panel painting Paradise Lost through the power of music and movement. Drop by to experience this innovative and inspiring performance rooted in Bharata Natyam, one of India’s great classical dance forms.

#10 Make Art and Memories

Free art-making opportunities abound at the museum this summer! Bring the family to the Ryan Learning Center’s Art Exchange anytime between 11:00 and 3:00 on your next visit for activities inspired by Frida Kahlo and Gustave Caillebotte, and enjoy drop-in sketching in the galleries June 5 from 12:00 to 2:00. Need more? Check out our full list of creativity-focused offerings.

Images: Visitors take in Jay DeFeo (Mary Joan DeFeo)’s The Annunciation, 1957–59. Gift of Lannan Foundation. © 2018 The Jay DeFeo Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; Gustave Caillebotte. On the Pont de l’Europe, about 1877. Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, AP 1982.01; Wayne Thiebaud. Cake Slices (detail), 1963. Gift of the Irving Stenn, Jr. Family; Raqib Shaw. Paradise Lost (Chapter 1) (detail), 2009–11. Courtesy of the artist. © Raqib Shaw; Statue of a Goddess, known as the Hestia Giustiniani, first half of 2nd century CE. Roman, Imperial Period. Torlonia Collection. © Torlonia Foundation. Photo by Lorenzo De Masi; Natya Dance. Copyright © 2019 Natya, all rights reserved; Jacques Schumacher, executive director of provenance research. STM-125597296, Pat Nabong/Chicago Sun-Times. © 2024 Chicago Sun-Times Media, Inc. All rights reserved; Frida Kahlo. My Dress Hangs There (detail), 1933. Hoover Gallery, San Francisco, California.

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