Founded in 1879 as the successor to earlier art organizations dating back to 1866, the Art Institute of Chicago grew from the ashes of the Chicago Academy of Design, whose building was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire. Renamed in 1882 and long shaped by president Charles L. Hutchinson, it secured its permanent home in the former 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition building in Grant Park. Both a museum and school, it is one of the nation’s oldest and largest art museums, with collections spanning more than 5,000 years, major strengths in Western painting and many other fields, extensive conservation and library resources, and a major role in American museum history.

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Photo: Wikipedia · Public domain

Chicago, Illinois · USA