Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago (must see)

The Chicago Academy of Design was started in a studio on Dearborn Street in 1866. It was a group studio and gallery of 35 artists. The organization of the studio was modeled after European art academies, such as England's Royal Academy. A free school with its gallery was attached to the Academy. The Academy received its charter in 1867.

The Academy building was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Some members of the Academy then founded the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. In 1882 the Academy of Fine Arts changed its name to the Art Institute of Chicago.

The Art Institute building at 111 South Michigan Avenue is a Beaux-Arts creation by Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge, a successful architecture firm based in Boston. The western entrance of the Institute is guarded by two large bronze lions made by sculptor Edward Kemeys. The lions are often dressed in the jerseys of winning Chicago sports teams. At Christmas time they wear wreaths.

In May 2009, the Art Institute opened its new Modern Wing. This is a 264,000-square-foot annex designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano. The Modern Wing houses the Institute's early 20th-century European Art represented by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Rene Magritte, etc., and the Bergman Collection of Surrealist Art.