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The Art Institute of Chicago

© Judith Stock

The Art Institute, which includes both a museum and an art school, houses more than 300,000 works of art. Among its greatest treasures are the masterpieces: A Sunday Afternoon on La Grande Jatte-1994 by Georges Seurat, American Gothic by Grant Wood, Nighthawks by Edward Hopper and 33 paintings by Claude Monet. Some of my favorite artists hang out on the walls including Seurat, Rene Magritte, Monet, Mary Cassatt, and Winslow Homer. Founded in 1983, the core beaux-arts building that is home to the Art Institute on Michigan Avenue was originally built for the World's Columbian Exposition.

The collection of European paintings includes the likes of van Gogh, Toulore-Lautrec, Cezanne, Degas, Renoir, and Monet. Considered on of the finest and inclusive in the world, the twentieth-Century painting and sculpture collection include O'Keeffe, Matisse, Hockney, Stella, and Pollock.

The Photography collection spans the history of the medium and includes many works by Edward Weston, Paul Strand, and Alfred Stieglitz.

Highlights of future exhibits include:

February 5 to April 23, 2000/Gallery 16 Working Together: Illustrations by Leo and Diane Dillon, an award winning husband and wife team who have illustrated more than 40 children's books.

February 5 to April 16, 2000/Gallery 57 - 59 The Woven Coverlet: An Expression of Treasured America, which displays a selection of coverlets or bedspreads by early American Artisans using wool, cotton, and linen.

March 13 to May 28, 2000/Regenstein Hall Monet to Moore: The Millennium Gift of Sara Lee Corporation, highlighting 52 important works by renowned artists scheduled to be donated to 40 museums around the world as part of a corporate philanthropy gift. Twelve works in this collection will remain on permanent view at the Art Institute.

April 7 to July 16, 2000/Gallery 227 Bilbao: The Transformation of a City. Sprouting a remarkable cultural and economic rebirth, the ancient city of Bilbao in northern Spain has redesigned itself out of necessity in part due to the phenomenal success of the Guggenheim Museum and the many visitors take continue to arrive on its' doorsteps.

July 17 to September 24, 2000/Regenstein Hall Pharaohs of the Sun: Akhenaten, Nefertiti, and Tutankhamen. A source of fascination for centuries, ancient Egypt, and especially the Amarna period, are showcased in this retrospective exhibit.

The Museum Shop offers a wide selection of gifts, jewelry and museum adaptations from around the world, many derived from objects in the Art Institute's permanent. Looking for a particular art book, the Museum Shop also has one of the most comprehensive assortments of art related titles in its book department.

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