The Art Institute of Chicago currently exists both as a world-class museum and a renowned, independent school of fine
arts.
The School
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is a professional college of the visual and related arts, accredited since 1936 by
the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, and since 1944 (charter member) by the National Association of Schools of
Art and Design.
The Museum
Today, the museum is most famous for its collection of Impressionist
and American paintings, such as Claude Monet's Haystacks, Georges Seurat's
Sunday
Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, Grant Wood's
American Gothic and Edward Hopper's Nighthawks.However, the museum has much more than paintings. In the basement you can see the Thorne Rooms, exact miniatures
demonstrating American and European architectural and
furniture styles. On the main floor is the George F. Harding collection of arms and armor reflecting armaments throughout the Medieval period.The Art Institute's famous western entrance on Michigan Avenue is
guarded by two bronze lions created by Edward L. Kemeys. When a Chicago sports team makes the playoffs, the lions are frequently dressed in that
team's uniform. Just inside the eastern doors is a reconstruction of the trading room of the old Chicago Stock Exchange. Designed by Louis Sullivan in 1894, the Exchange was
torn down in 1972. Salvaged portions of the original room were brought to the Art Institute
and reconstructed. Leaving the Art Institute through the east doors at the end of the driveway is the Stock Exchange entrance,
the only other piece of this Chicago landmark salvaged by preservationists.