The History of the Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States.
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 art school and establish their own gallery.
Thus, the Academy’s success allowed it to build a new home for the school, a five-story stone building inaugurated on November 22, 1870.
Furthermore, thanks to the significant growth of the collection, the museum expanded over time. The most recent expansion, the modern wing designed by Renzo Piano, was inaugurated in 2009.

