About this artwork
By 1963, architect Bruce Graham of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill developed designs for the Brunswick Building (now the Cook Country Administrative Building), including a monumental work for the plaza just west of the structure. He commissioned Joan Miró, known for his abstract paintings and sculptures composed of biomorphic shapes, to produce a monument that would complement Pablo Picasso’s planned sculpture for the new civic center (now Richard J. Daley Center) across the street.
After visiting Chicago to survey the site and designs for the building, Miró made this plaster maquette as a proposal. The commission was delayed, however, for nearly two decades, until 1980, when Mayor Jane Byrne launched new efforts to realize Miró’s design: a 40-foot-tall female figure with outstretched arms made of bronze, ceramic tiles, and cement. Miró’s Chicago was completed and dedicated on the artist’s 88th birthday, April 20, 1981.
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Status
- On View, Gallery 144
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Department
- Modern Art
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Artist
- Joan Miró
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Title
- Maquette for "Miró's Chicago"
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Place
- Spain (Artist's nationality:)
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Date
- 1963
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Medium
- Plaster
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Dimensions
- 132.1 × 28 × 25.4 cm (52 × 11 × 10 in.)
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Credit Line
- Gift of William E. Hartmann
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Reference Number
- 1983.636
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Copyright
- © 2018 Successió Miró / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
Extended information about this artwork
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