Chicago Academy of Design
In 1866, a group of 35 artists founded the Chicago Academy of
Design in a studio on Dearborn street, with the intent to run a free school its own art gallery. The organization was modeled
after European art academies, such as the Royal Academy, with Academians and Assosciate Academians.
The Academy's charter was granted in March of 1867.Classes started in 1868, meeting every day and costing $10 a month. The Academy's
success enabled it to build a new home for the school, a five story stone building on 66 West Adams Street, which opened on November
22nd, 1870.However, the Great Chicago Fire the following year destroyed
the building, along with a great deal of the rest of Chicago, and threw the Academy into debt.
Chicago Academy of Fine Arts
Attempts to continue in spite of the loss, using rented facilities, failed. By 1878, the
Academy was $10,000 in debt. Members tried to rescue the ailing institution by making deals with local businessmen, before
finally abandoning it in 1879 to found a new organization, named the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. When the Academy of
Design went bankrupt the same year, the new Academy of Fine Arts bought its assets at auction.
Art Institute of Chicago
In 1882, the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts changed its named to the current
Art Institute of
Chicago. The same year, they purchased a lot on the corner of Michigan and Van Buren for $45,000. The building already there was leased and a new one constructed behind it, to house
the school's facilities.With the announcement of the World's
Columbian Exposition to be held in 1892-93, the
Art Institute pressed for a building on the lakefront to be constructed for the fair, but to be used by the Institute afterwards.
The city agreed and the building was completed in time for the second year of the fair. The construction costs were paid by
selling the Michigan/Van Buren property and on October
31st, 1893, the Institute was allowed to move into their new building.Between 1959 and 1970, the Institute was a key site in the battle to gain art & documentary photography a place in
galleries, under curator Hugh Edwards and his assistants.