Since the end of the 19th century, the Chicago Institute of Art – which is officially known as the Art Institute of Chicago – has been one of the premiere art museums in the United States. With its prime location in Chicago’s Grant Park, the Institute of Art is a major tourist draw for those who visit the Windy City. Best known for its incredible Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collections, the Chicago Institute of Art also boasts fine works of art from several other genres. From Matisse to Van Gogh to Frank Lloyd Wright, the Art Institute of Chicago is an exciting place to explore.

Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Works

The vast majority of people who come to peruse the Chicago Institute of Art’s more than 260,000 works of art make a point of stopping by the museum’s topnotch Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collections. Works from all of the most well-known French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists are here, as are pieces from painters from other parts of the world. A few top highlights from the Chicago Institute of Art’s Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collections include:

• Two Sisters (On the Terrace) by Pierre-August Renoir
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• The Bathers by Henri Matisse
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• The Basket of Apples by Paul Cézanne
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• Madame Cézanne in a Yellow Chair by Paul Cézanne
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• At the Moulin Rouge by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec
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• Paris Street; Rainy Day by Gustave Caillebutte
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• A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat
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• Bedroom in Arles by Vincent van Gogh
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• Several works by Claude Monet, including six from the Haystacks series and a selection from the Water Lilies series
• Highlights from the Art Institute of Chicago’s American Collection

  While the Chicago Institute of Art is best known for its Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, there are many other well known works of art on display. The American Collection at the Art Institute of Chicago is a veritable “who’s who” of modern American artists. By roaming through the collection, visitors can take in Nighthawks by Edward Hopper; another exceptionally iconic and well-known painting within the collection is American Gothic by Grant Wood. Between the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist collections and the American collection, visitors to the Chicago Institute of Art are kept quite busy.

  Other Collections

  The works of art on display at the Art Institute of Chicago span a period of more than 5,000 years. Modern works tend to get the most attention, but the Ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman galleries are well worth a look as well. A huge array of gold coins are on display, as is the mummy case and actual mummy of Paankhenamun.

  Another must-see section of the Chicago Institute of Art contains the American Decorative Arts galleries. Several different examples of modern furniture are on display here; most notably, creations by Frank Lloyd Wright can be taken in.

  Due to its sheer size, it’s impossible to see every last piece that’s on display at the Art Institute of Chicago. For best results, decide what you absolutely must see beforehand, then use a map to find your way around in a time-efficient way.