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A finely rendered drawing in shades of blue and white of a older man with beard and mustache clutching a young woman who holds onto him fiercely, her arms clasped above his head. All around them a storm approaches, white lightning piercing the dark-blue sky, hazy mountains in the distance.

Inside the Exhibition
Five Favorites of French Neoclassical Art

The curators behind two exhibitions of works from an unparalleled private collection share their must-see picks.

About the Artist
Nine Things to Know about Paula Modersohn-Becker

Learn more about the artist who called her life a “short, intense celebration.”

Provenance Stories
A Sacred Pilaster Returns Home

A story of how provenance and proactive research led to the return of a sacred artifact to the people of Thailand.

A gleaming dark brown sculpture of a female form seen in 3/4 view, from the knees up. Her shoulders press against the wall, while her neck inclines her head forward at an angle. Her arms hang at her side with her hands pressed on top of her thighs. While her prominent breasts are fully delineated, the rest of her figure is obscured by a full-length abstracted dress.

New Acquisition
Simone Leigh’s Sharifa

Discover the ideas and projects that blossomed into this powerful sculpture by the Chicago-born artist and why the Art Institute makes a particularly resonant home for it.

A color photo shows the trunks of a few trees surrounded by light-brown tall grasses and smaller leafless trees.

Inside the Exhibition
A Walk in Jeremy Frey’s Forest

Journey through the long, careful, and beautifully intense process the artist undertakes to transform a tree into an exquisite basket.

Photo of 1893 World's Parliament of Religion

Museum History
Sisters and Brothers of America: Swami Vivekananda in Chicago

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Exploring the Collection
Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Correspondence Art

Just like letters and cards, artworks sent through the mail make personal connections.

Softly painted image of a woman with light skin and wide, knowing brown eyes. She wears a light-colored hat and a blue dress, a hazy blue sky behind her.

Inside the Exhibition
The Artistic Homes of Paula Modersohn-Becker

Determined to reach her full potential, she moved between city and countryside in pursuit of artistic inspiration.

Meet the Staff
Nenette Luarca-Shoaf, Director of Adult Learning and Associate Curator of Interpretation

A beige-colored cloth with a floral embroidery pattern outlined lightly in sienna. Only a portion has been embroidered, and only partially: a pink peony on a thin vertical branch with multitonal green leaves.

Inside the Exhibition
May Morris: Designer and Advocate

As head of the embroidery studio at Morris & Co., May Morris carried on a family legacy—while forging her own as a designer and activist.

Image of Persian velvet panel that entered the museum in 1924

Collection Spotlight
Reading Arthur Upham Pope in Tehran (and Chicago)

There will always be a constant battle in my heart and mind.

Meet the Staff
Gloria Groom, Chair and David and Mary Winton Green Curator, Painting and Sculpture of Europe

SoapN Bubble Set features the old fashioned pipes that would have been used for blowing bubbles and other playful objects

From the Collection
Creative Filing as Joyous Creation: The Works of Joseph Cornell

Through his unique alchemy, the self-taught designer transformed everyday materials into poetry.

A porcelain plate with light blue edges. From a center circle, a red dragon with pinwheel claws stares out above red clouds and blue waves.

Interpreting the Collection
Celebrating Lunar New Year: The Year of the Dragon

Six Asian and Asian American staff members find connections between objects in the collection and their memories of Lunar New Year celebrations.

A light-skinned blonde woman, Heather Reinholtz, stands in the entryway of the Art Institute of Chicago's shop in the Modern Wing, the words "The Modern Shop" written in block letters on the glass door to her left. She wears a burgundy dress. Behind her, through the doors, is a sun-drenched gift shop filled with books and other items.

Meet the Staff
Heather Reinholtz, Executive Director, Retail and Dining

Get to know the always exacting, hospitality-minded people person behind the museum’s shopping and dining experiences.

A ceramic sculpture made to look like crushed cardboard packaging. The package features a beer can on a red background with black and white accents and lettering, some words in English and others in Japanese. The left side of the sculpted box looks particularly crushed and frayed, and the words "Super 'Dry'" are visible in large lettering on its side.

Inside the Exhibition
Ceramic Innovation: Japan’s Women Take the Lead

Breaking from tradition-based methods and forms, these exuberant and wildly inventive clay works find a spotlight in Chicago.

Close-up photograph of a large hanging textile made up of many woven squares and rectangles in shades of blue, gray, and white separated by multiple neutral-toned ropes woven together at their junctures.

Anatomy of a White Dwarf: On Life, Home, and Weaving

For artists María Dávila and Eduardo Portillo, the world of each textile contains multitudes.

Meet the Staff
Michael Mitchell, Associate Director of Volunteer Programs

Meet the Staff
Zoë Ryan, John H. Bryan Chair and Curator of Architecture and Design

A rectangular quilt composed of various fabrics in dark or muted colors in a 4-by-5 section grid. Each section has a horizontally striped fabric as a background. Overlaid is a thick X shape in solid black, and overlaid on top of that is a square of a different striped fabric. Two stripes of black separate the outside columns from the two inner columns.

Inside the Exhibition
Exuberant Experimentation: Christina Ramberg’s Late Works

Discover how quiltmaking opened up new worlds of creativity for the beloved Chicago artist in the mid-1980s.

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