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Sunday, September 9, 2012

Cuneo Museum , chicago , museum in chicago

Cuneo Museum , chicago ,,,,

Cuneo Mansion and Gardens may be a historic home, aggregation and gardens in Vernon Hills, Illinois, in-built 1914 and designed by creator Benjamin Marshall of Marshall & Fox. The mansion's 1st owner was prophet Insull, founding father of the Commonwealth artificer company. John Cuneo, Sr. purchased the mansion in 1937 when the collapse of the Insull utility empire. Cuneo is best called the founding father of the Cuneo Press and haw Mellody dairy farm. Cuneo had the inside of the Mansion painted with murals from Chicago Ecclesiological painter John Mallin. In 2009, the house was given to theologist University Chicago.


Information :


 The mansion, that remained the family home till the death of Cuneo's widow in 1990, is currently Associate in Nursing gallery and historic house depository. It opened its doors to the general public for the primary time in 1991. The mansion's paintings, tapestries, and different furnishings ar the results of the Cuneo family's womb-to-tomb assembling. additionally to design and art, Cuneo is additionally famed for its grounds, designed by the famous Jens author (landscape architect).
During the vacation season, the depository and its grounds ar embellished with vacation lights and other people ar invited to drive through a "Winter Wonderland light-weight Show".
Interpretive tours of the mansion and its collections ar conducted by depository guides and employees. Self-guided tours ar currently offered weekday through Sunday 10:00 - 4:00pm till might fifteenth at which era target-hunting tours can resume. The Mediterranean vogue mansion options Associate in Nursing arcaded central hall, a lavish formal eating area and a non-public chapel. The collections embody antique furnishings, Renaissance paintings, tapestries, silver and ceramic ware. Souvenirs of your visit and distinctive gifts ar out there within the depository Store.

Cuneo Museum in film :


The Cuneo repository has been the background of many noteworthy films set in Chicago. Specifically, several of the outside wedding scenes and reception shots for the 1997 romantic comedy My Best Friend's Wedding, leading Julia Roberts and Cameron Dias, were recorded at Cuneo repository. The repository was additionally the setting for senseless Protection, leading Larry the Cable Guy, that appeared in 2008.

 
Cuneo Museum , chicago:

Saturday, September 8, 2012

John J. Glessner House , museum in chicago

John J. Glessner House ,,,,,,

The John J. Glessner House, operated because the Glessner House depository, is a vital 19th-century residence placed at 1800 S. grassland Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. it absolutely was designed in 1885-1886 by creator Henry Hobson Richardson and completed in late 1887. The property was selected a Chicago Landmark on Oct fourteen, 1970. the positioning was listed within the National Register of Historic Places on Apr seventeen, 1970 and as a National Historic Landmark on Jan seven, 1976.

Later History :


After John Glessner died in 1936, the house was given to the yank Institute of Architects, UN agency came it to the family once they determined they may not afford the maintenance necessary. In 1937, the family deeded the house to the Armour Institute (precursor to the current day Illinois Institute of Technology). In 1945 the Institute hired the house to the planographic printing Technical Foundation, that put in massive printing presses in several of the rooms and conducted analysis for the printing trade. once the inspiration moved to urban center within the early Nineteen Sixties, the house was vulnerable with demolition. Eventually a bunch of architects and preservation-minded voters banded along to save lots of the house, and purchased it in 1966 for simply $35,000. among a number of years, the Glessner descendants began returning original furnishings.
John J. Glessner :

John Jacob Glessner (1843–1936) was a partner within the firm of law officer, Father of the Submarine & Glessner, a farm machinery manufacturer headquartered in Springfield, Ohio. right away once his wedding in 1870 to Frances Macbeth, Glessner settled to Chicago wherever he opened a branch workplace. In 1902, the firm and 4 others, as well as McCormick and Deering, unified to create International Harvester, that became the fourth largest corporation within the country. Glessner was appointed vp and continuing therein capability till his death in 1936 at the age of ninety two.
During the late nineteenth century, Chicago's most prestigious residential street was grassland Avenue on the side. Enjoying economic success, Glessner determined to create a home for his family on grassland Avenue and eighteenth Street. He selected one in every of the young nation's foremost architects, H.H. Richardson.
The Glessner House Today :

 The house opened for public tours in 1971. several of the rooms are accurately rehabilitated to their original look. the gathering of ornamental objects and furnishings is particularly important, because the Glessners were refined collectors of each English and yank arts and crafts. Objects and piece of furniture by artisan, William DeMorgan, Galle, patriarch Scott, A.H. Davenport et al. ar found throughout the house. The Glessner House repository, a non-profit-making 501(c)(3) corporation, was shaped in 1994 to administer the property. many thousand folks visit the positioning annually for tours and programs.

Hull House , museum in chicago , tourism in chicago

Hull House ,,,,,
Hull House was a centre within the us that was co-founded in 1889 by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates drummer. settled within the close to side of Chicago, Illinois, Hull House (named for the home's initial owner) opened its doors to the recently arrived European immigrants. By 1911, Hull House had fully grown to thirteen buildings. In 1912 the Hull House complicated was completed with the addition of a site, the Bowen guild.With its innovative social, instructional, and creative programs, Hull House became the quality bearer for the movement that had fully grown, by 1920, to virtually five hundred settlement homes across the nation.
Hull House - outside :

 the ever-changing demands of the association. the initial building and one extra building (which has been touched two hundred yards (182.9 m))survive these days. On June 12, 1974, the Hull House building was selected a Chicago Landmark.[8] On Midsummer Eve, 1965, it absolutely was selected as a U.S. National Historic Landmark .[9] On October fifteen, 1966, that is that the day that the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 was enacted, it absolutely was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Hull House was one in every of the four original members to be listed on each the Chicago Registered Historic Places and therefore the National Register of Historic Places list (along with Chicago Pile-1, Robie House & Lorado Taft Midway Studios).[1] The Hull House Association ceased operations in January 2012, however the Hull mansion remains open as a repository.
 The building and museum :

Hull House was set in Chicago Illinois, and took its name from the Italianate mansion engineered by land businessman Charles J. Hull at 800 South Halsted Street in 1856. The building was set in what had once been a trendy a part of city, however by 1889, once Addams was sorting out a location for her experiment, it had descended into sordidness. This was partially thanks to the fast and overwhelming inflow of immigrants into the close to side neighborhood. Charles Hull granted his former home to his kinswoman Helen of Troy Culver, UN agency successively granted it to Addams on a 25-year unpaid lease. By 1907, Addams had nonheritable thirteen buildings close Hull's mansion. Between 1889 and 1935, Addams and Ellen Gates Richard Starkey endlessly redeveloped the building. In 1912, the Bowen gild camp was value-added to complete the Hull House complicated.[citation needed] the ability remained at the first location till it had been purchased in 1963 by what was then known as the University of Illinois-Circle field.[28] the event of University of Illinois-Circle field needed the demolition of the many close Hull House buildings  and therefore the 1967 restoration to the first building by Frazier, Raftery, Orr and Fairbank removed Addams's third floor addition. Of the dozen further buildings solely the craftsman vogue eating hall (built in 1905 and designed by pool & Pond) survives and it had been emotional two hundred yards (182.9 m) from its original web site.
Theater in Hull House :
 Addams felt that the community edges from theater plays associated so established an amateur theater within the Hull House in 1899.“The neighborhood Greeks performed the classic plays of antiquity in their own language and therefore the youngsters of European immigrants made Shakespeare” additionally as others.[35] Early one Gregorian calendar month, the Greeks performed mythical being in Chicago. The area was crammed with a multi-ethnic crowd and packed too shut for comfort. The audience was terribly eager and gave the performers “rapt attention.They watched neighbors and associates execute this primitive play, however it had been terribly powerful, plausible, and private. The actors appeared to pay “tribute to a noble ancestry” and plea for the respect of the audience.[36] so, they did gain this respect as a result of it had been aforementioned that not even trained faculty students may provide an equivalent play with the maximum amount zeal and nationalism. In 1963, once road tours of Broadway productions became common, the Hull House Theater within the Jane Addams Center at 3212 North Broadway fostered the event of Chicago Theater firms for the remainder of the century.[34] Founder Bob Sickinger created associate setting to nourish young talent with expertness.[37] Chicago's noted Improvisational theatre scene has roots in Hull House, as Viola Spolin, noted Improvisational techniques pedagogue, tutored categories at Hull House.
 Hull House & Jane Addams :

Thursday, September 6, 2012

The Notebaert Nature Museum , museum in chicago ,

The Notebaert Nature Museum,,,
The Peggy Notebaert Nature depository - The depository of the Chicago Academy of Sciences could be a nature depository placed in Chicago, Illinois. The museum, that opened in a very new facility in October 1999, is found at the intersection of Fullerton route and Cannon Drive in Lincoln Park.[1] The depository focuses on the explanation of the Chicago region and kid and course of instruction. additionally, it's a well-liked live butterfly house.
History of The Notebaert Nature Museum : 
 The repository is operated by the Chicago Academy of Sciences, that had antecedently been set at Lincoln Park's century recent Matthew Laflin Memorial Building.The Academy was supported in 1857 by young outstanding yankee naturalists, like Henry M. Robert Kennicott and William Stimpson. it had been Chicago’s 1st repository dedicated to nature and science, and developed one in every of the best explanation collections within the u. s. within the mid-19th century, however that assortment was lost within the nice Chicago fireplace of 1871.The repository was remodeled however lost its home once more within the monetary turmoil of the Eighteen Eighties. The repository then designed a building in Lincoln Park in 1898, that became the model for the Chicago Park District's museum-in-the-parks program. The recent repository attracted several guests with its realistic dioramas of space ecological settings.within the Nineteen Nineties, a brand new home for the repository was made close, on the southeastern banks of the North pool. Its recent building is presently used for Lincoln Park zoological garden .
Exhibits and programs:

 The museum's exhibits these days embrace displays concerning the ecological history of the Illinois region, a live butterfly house, and a inexperienced home demonstration.[6] The butterfly house options quite two hundred species of exotic butterflies. The depository conjointly offers quite a hundred instructional programs for adults and kids.
The Notebaert Nature Museum:

 
 The coolest a part of the Peggy Notebaert depository was the Butterfly Haven. it is a place i might wish to go visit whereas reading a book. So dreamy. Some individuals were truly having their lunch there. Brilliant.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Field Museum of Natural History , museum in chicago ,

Field Museum of Natural History,,,,
The Field Museum of Natural History (abbreviated FMNH) is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It sits on Lake Shore Drive next to Lake Michigan, part of a scenic complex known as the Museum Campus Chicago. The museum collections contain over 21 million specimens,[2] of which only a small portion are ever on display. The president of the museum is Richard W. Lariviere.
Description of Field Museum of Natural History,,,,,
 Some prized exhibits in the Field Museum include a large collection of dinosaur skeletons in the Evolving Planet exhibit, a comprehensive set of human cultural anthropology exhibits (with artifacts from ancient Egypt, the Pacific Northwest, the Pacific Islands, and Tibet), a large and diverse taxidermy collection (with many large animals, including two prized African elephants and the infamous Lions of Tsavo featured in the 1996 movie The Ghost and the Darkness), the Ancient Americas exhibit devoted to a large collection of Native American artifacts, and Sue (the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus skeleton currently known).
 History of Field Museum of Natural History,,,,,
 The Field Museum was incorporated in the State of Illinois on September 16, 1893 as the Columbian Museum of Chicago with its purpose the "accumulation and dissemination of knowledge, and the preservation and exhibition of artifacts illustrating art, archaeology, science and history." The museum was originally housed in the World's Columbian Exposition's Palace of Fine Arts (which is today home to the Museum of Science and Industry). In 1905, the museum's name was changed to Field Museum of Natural History to honor the museum's first major benefactor, Marshall Field, and to better reflect its focus on natural history. In 1921, the museum moved from its original location to its present site on Chicago Park District property near downtown, where it is part of the lakefront Museum Campus that includes the John G. Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium. In 2006, the Field Museum was the number one cultural attraction in Chicago but surrendered the title in 2007 to the Shedd Aquarium.
Library.....
 The library at the Field Museum was organized in 1893 to meet the research needs of the museum's scientific staff, visiting researchers, students, and members of the general public interested in natural history and are an essential resource for the Museum’s research, exhibition development and educational programs. The 275,000 volumes of the Main Research Collections concentrate on biological systematics, environmental and evolutionary biology, anthropology, botany, geology, archaeology, museology and related subjects. Some highlights of the Field Museum Library include:
Ayer Collection: The private, chiefly ornithological, collection of Edward E. Ayer, the first president of the museum. The collection contains virtually all the important works in history of ornithology and is especially rich in color-illustrated works.
Laufer Collection: The working collection of Dr. Berthold Laufer, America’s first sinologist and Curator of Anthropology until his death in 1934. The Library houses approximately 7,000 volumes in Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan, and numerous Western languages on anthropology, archaeology, religion, science, and travel.
Photo Archives: A compilation of over 250,000 images in the areas of anthropology, botany, geology, and zoology. The collection also documents the history and architecture of the museum, its exhibitions, staff and scientific expeditions. Two important collections from the Photo Archives are now available via the Illinois Digital Archives (IDA): World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 from The Field Museum and Urban Landscapes from The Field Museum. In April 2009, the Photo Archives became part of the Flickr Commons .
Karl P. Schmidt Memorial Herpetological Library: Named for Karl Patterson Schmidt. A research library that contains over 2,000 herpetological books and an extensive reprint collection.
In popular media ,,,,,
 The Field Museum of Natural History served as the setting in the 1997 horror film The Relic. Many parts of the film, though, were created with computer graphics or with sets that bear only a passing similarity to the actual museum.
It was used in several scenes for the Kevin Bacon movie She's Having a Baby.
A chase scene in the 1996 Keanu Reeves thriller Chain Reaction combined the Field Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry, located several miles to the south, into one museum.

source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_Museum_of_Natural_History

video about Field Museum of Natural History in chicago :


Tuesday, September 4, 2012

DuSable Museum of African American History , musem in chicago

DuSable Museum of African American History,,,,
The DuSable Museum of African American History was founded in 1961 by Dr. Margaret Burroughs and her husband, Charles Burroughs. Dr. Burroughs is an artist, teacher, and art historian. 
DuSable Museum of African American History - outside : 
 
 The museum is dedicated to preserving, studying, and exploring the experience of Americans of African descent. The collections and programming cover a wide range of topics, including arts, culture, and the collection and preservation of more than 50,000 artifacts. It is one of the only independent institutions of its kind in the country.

The museum was named for explorer Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, who was among the first settlers to arrive in Chicago in 1779.
 History of DuSable Museum of African American History,,,
 The DuSable Museum was originally chartered on February 16, 1961.Its origins as the Ebony Museum of Negro History and Art began following the work of Margaret and Charles Burroughs to correct the perceived omission of black history and culture in the education establishment.The museum was originally located on the ground floor of the Burroughs' home at 3806 S. Michigan Avenue. In 1968, the museum was renamed for Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, a Haitian fur trader and the first non-Native-American permanent settler in Chicago.[6][7] During the 1960s, the museum and the South Side Community Art Center, which was located across the street, founded by Taylor-Burroughs and dedicated by Eleanor Roosevelt, formed an African American cultural corridor. This original museum site had previously been a boarding house for African American railroad workers.[6]
The DuSable Museum quickly filled a void caused by limited cultural resources then available to African Americans in Chicago. It became an educational resource for African American history and culture and a focal point in Chicago for black social activism. The museum has hosted political fundraisers, community festivals, and various events serving the black community. The museum's model has been emulated in numerous other cities around the country, including Boston, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.


The Harold Washington Wing
In 1973, the Chicago Park District donated the usage of a park administration building in Washington Park as the site for the museum.The current location once served as a lockup facility for the Chicago Police Department. in 1993, the museum expanded with the addition of a new wing named in honor of the late Mayor Harold Washington, the first African-American mayor of Chicago.In 2004, the original building became a contributing building to the Washington Park United States Registered Historic District which is a National Register of Historic Places listing.[
The DuSable Museum is the oldest and largest caretaker of African American culture in the United States. Over its long history, it has expanded as necessary to reflect the increased interest in black culture.This willingness to adapt has allowed it to survive while other museums faltered due to a weakening economy and decreased public support.The museum was the eighth one located on Park District land.Although it focuses on exhibiting African American culture, it is one of several Chicago museums that celebrates Chicago's ethnic and cultural heritage.
Antoinette Wright, director of the DuSable Museum, has said that African American art has grown out of a need for the culture to preserve its history orally and in art due to historical obstacles to other forms of documentation. She also believes that the museum serves as a motivational tool for members of a culture that has experienced extensive negativity.In the 1980s, African American museums such as the DuSable endured the controversy of whether negative aspects of the cultural history should be memorialized.In the 1990s, the African American genre of museum began to flourish despite financial difficulties.
Facilities  :
 The original north entrance contains the main lobby of the museum and features the Thomas Miller mosaics, which honor the institution's founders. The building was designed c.1915 by D.H. Burnham and Company to serve as the South Park Administration Building in Washington Park on the city's south side.[3] The new wing is 25,000 square feet (2,300 m2). The museum has a 466-seat auditorium, which is part of the new wing, that hosts community-related events, such as a jazz and blues music series, poetry readings, film screenings, and other cultural events. The museum also has a gift shop and a research library.[4] As of 2001, the museum operated with a US$2.7 million budget, compared to a $55.7M budget for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.The museum's funding is partially dependent upon a Chicago Park District tax levy.
After the 1993 expansion of the new wing, the museum contained 50,000 square feet (4,600 m2) of exhibition space. The $4 million expansion was funded by a $2 million matching funds grant from city and state officials.
 

Chicago History Museum , museum in chicago

Chicago History Museum ,,,,,
Formerly known as the Chicago Historical Society, the Chicago History Museum has been collecting, interpreting, protecting, and housing the city's history since 1856. 
 Chicago History Museum  - outside :
 
Their collections include more than 22 million items spanning seven categories: Archives and Manuscripts, Architecture, Costumes, Deocrative and Industrial Arts, Prints and Photographs, Painting and Sculpture, and Library materials.
History of Chicago History Museum :
 Much of the early collection of the Chicago Historical Society was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire in 1871, but like the city, the museum rose from the ashes. Among its many documents which were lost in the fire was a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, hand-written by Abraham Lincoln.[1] After the fire, the Society began collecting new materials, which were stored in a building owned by J. Young Scammon, a prominent lawyer and member of the society. However, the building and new collection were again destroyed by fire in 1874. The Chicago Historical Society built a fireproof building on the site of its pre-1871 building at 632 North Dearborn Street. The replacement building opened in 1896 and, after housing the collection for thirty-six years, was used for several purposes and remained vacant for periods until being transformed into a nightclub in 1985. This impressively massive Richardsonian Romanesque building is currently the home of the Excalibur nightclub. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.


1896-1932 home of the Chicago Historical Society
In 1920, the Society purchased the large history collection of Charles F. Gunther with the intention of changing its focus from only a research institution into a public museum. Many of the items in Gunther's collection, in addition to Chicago, were related to Abraham Lincoln and the American Civil War. These include Lincoln's deathbed and several furniture pieces from the room where he died in Petersen House and clothing he and wife Mary Todd Lincoln allegedly wore the evening of his assassination.

 Building :
 After 36 years in the Henry Ives Cobb structure on North Dearborn Street, the museum and library moved to the current structure in Lincoln Park. The current home of the museum was designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White and constructed in 1932 by the WPA, with the aim of creating an expanded public museum.
The 1932 Federal-style structure has been expanded twice. The first addition, clad in limestone, opened in 1972 and was designed by Alfred Shaw and Associates. The second addition, designed by Holabird and Root, was made in 1988 and included refacing the earlier expansion in red brick to give a unified look to all three portions of the building. Both expansions occurred on the west side of the 1932 structure, leaving intact its original porticoed entrance facing Lincoln Park.[4] The main entrance and reception hall, however, was moved to the new western addition facing Clark street. The 1988 extension, in addition to expanded exhibition galleries, also contains the museum's store and public cafe.



Monday, September 3, 2012

adler planetarium chicago , museum in chicago , usa

adler planetarium chicago
 Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum, founded in 1930, is America's first and oldest planetarium. It now houses two star-gazing theaters, a unique collection of antique instruments, extensive exhibit space, and many hands-on exhibits. It also offers one of the most wonderful views of the skyline in the entire city. 
overview  adler planetarium chicago :
 This lakefront attraction on the Museum Campus features loads of otherworldly exhibits. The Shoot for the Moon exhibit features the fully restored Gemini 12 spacecraft that astronauts Captain James A. Lovell Jr. and Buzz Aldrin flew in the 1966. The new permanent exhibit Planet Explorers offers hands-on-learning for budding astronomers. Journey to the Stars, an immersive space show narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, takes the viewers 13 billion years in the past, when the first stars were born. Open Monday-Friday 10-4pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am-4:30pm
main cyberspace adler,,,,,,
The CyberSpace Gallery is billed as the future of museum experiences. It features computer-based interactive exhibits, stations which provide realistic, immersive experiences of the universe, a CyberClassroom for up to date information on current astronomy, and a Cyberstudio for interactive video conferencing.
video adler planetarium chicago


 
 It is the oldest planetarium in the United States and first opened its doors way back in 1930. Adler Planetarium was founded by Chicago business leader Max Adler and the museum today is home to three full-size theaters, extensive space and science exhibits and one of the world's most important antique astronomical instrument collections on display.
Downtown Chicago from the Adler Planetarium

 
 Located on Northerly Island, it is a part of Chicago's Museum Campus along with the John G. Shedd Aquarium and the Field Museum of Natural History. For its design, architect Ernest A. Grunsfeld, Jr. was awarded the gold medal of the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 1931.[5] It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1987.

National Museum of Mexican Art , musem in chicago

National Museum of Mexican Art
 Found in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood just south of the Loop, the National Museum of Mexican Art represents the Mexican-American community of the city. Founded in 1987 by a handful of public school teachers, the Institution was started with just $900.

Exhibits at the National Museum of Mexican Art include Mexican and Mexican-American visual and performing artists, with a permanent collection of over 5,000 works. Visiting artists and special events add more highlights to the National Museum of Mexican Art, especially during the spring time.
National Museum of Mexican Art Overview:
 The NMMA is a Chicago jewel of a cultural center and the only Latino museum in the nation to have achieved accreditation by the American Association of Museums.

It houses more than 5,000 artifacts ranging from photography and ephemera to folk art and ancient Mexican art from the Classic era. Their mission ranges across the full breadth of Mexican culture. They write, "The Museum defines the Mexican culture as "sin fronteras" (without borders) and presents the Mexican culture from ancient times to the present and how it has manifested itself on both sides of the border."
 Gathering of Black Towns / Encuentro de Pueblos Negros :
The Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum might not seem like something that belongs in Chicago, but it features works of Mexican artists in an attempt to preserve a record of the Latino culture which is prevalent in the city. Here you’ll find paintings and sculptures by Hispanic artists.

Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum is just one specialty museum in Chicago. If you’re interested in Mexican art, it’s a good spot to add to your trip schedule. The art here ranges from historic to modern, to give you a good taste of how Mexican art has evolved.
History of National Museum of Mexican Art:
The National Museum of Mexican Art (Formerly known as the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum) is a museum which features Mexican, Latino, and Chicano art and culture. The museum was founded in 1982 by Carlos Tortolero. Located in the neighborhood of Pilsen in Chicago, Illinois, the current building in Harrison Park opened on March 27, 1987. The museum is the only Latino museum accredited by the American Association of Museums. The mission of the museum is to display Mexican culture as one sin fronteras (without borders).
view National Museum of Mexican Art :

 
 The museum boasts several galleries, some of which hold permanent collections while others showcase temporary exhibits. Pieces range from ancient Mexican art to present-day, and include works from both unknown and world-famous artists. The current featured exhibit (running until August 2010) explores the influence that Mexican muralists have had on artists from the United States. Entitled Translating Revolution: U.S. Artists Interpret Mexican Muralists, the collection contains works from American artists who traveled to Mexico pursuing art, some of whom stayed a lifetime and became Mexican citizens. Pieces include photography, prints, and paintings with a wide range of subject matters. Art lovers will enjoy seeing the work of the Tres Grandes (The Three “Big Ones”), Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros. The museum boasts pieces by these three artists who became famous for their murals and socially and politically inspired art. You may also have the fortune of seeing the work of Frida Kahlo, one of the most influential Mexican painters of the 20th century.

Art Institute of Chicago , museum in chicago

Art Institute of Chicago,,,,,
The Art Institute of Chicago is one of Chicago's most famous cultural gems and is a must-see for Chicagoans and visitors alike.

The Art Institute is located on Chicago's famous Michigan Avenue and is part of Grant Park. It has been at this address since 1893 and houses the third largest art collection in the nation admired by millions of visitors each year.
History of Art Institute of Chicago :
 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 with its own art gallery. The organization was modeled after European art academies, such as the Royal Academy, with Academians and Associate Academians. The Academy's charter was granted in March 1867.
Classes started in 1868, meeting every day at a cost of $10 per 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 22, 1870.
When the Great Chicago Fire destroyed the building in 1871 the Academy was thrown into debt. Attempts to continue despite 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 some finally abandoned it in 1879 to found a new organization, named the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. When the Chicago Academy of Design went bankrupt the same year, the new Chicago Academy of Fine Arts bought its assets at auction.
In 1882, the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts changed its name to the current Art Institute of Chicago The same year, they purchased a lot on the corner of Michigan Avenue and Van Buren Avenue for $45,000. The property's building was leased, and a new building was 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. Construction costs were paid by selling the Michigan/Van Buren property. On October 31, 1893, the Institute moved into the new building. From the 1900s (decade) to the 1960s the school offered with the Logan Family (members of the board) the Logan Medal of the Arts, an award which became one of the most distinguished awards presented to artists in the US.
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.
As Director of the museum starting in the early 1980s, James N. Wood conducted a major expansion of its collection and oversaw a major renovation and expansion project for its facilities. As "one of the most respected museum leaders in the country", as described by The New York Times, Wood created major exhibitions of works by Paul Gauguin, Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh that set records for attendance at the museum. He retired from the museum in 2004.[5]
In 2006, the Art Institute began construction of "The Modern Wing", an addition situated on the southwest corner of Columbus and Monroe. The project, designed by Pritzker Prize winning architect Renzo Piano, was completed and officially opened to the public on May 16, 2009. The 264,000-square-foot (24,500 m2) building makes the Art Institute the second largest art museum in the United States. The building houses the museum's world-renowned collections of 20th- and 21st-century art, specifically modern European painting and sculpture, contemporary art, architecture and design, and photography.
 One of the Thorne Miniature Rooms:
 number of other works. Located on the lower level are the Thorne Miniature Rooms which 1:12 scale interiors showcasing American, European and Asian architectural and furniture styles from the Middle Ages to the 1930s (when the rooms were constructed).[8] Another special feature of the museum is the Touch Gallery which is specially designed for the visually impaired. It features several works which museum guests are encouraged to experience though the sense of touch instead of through sight as well as specially designed description plates written in braille.[9] The American Decorative Arts galleries contain furniture pieces designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and Charles and Ray Eames. The Ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman galleries hold the mummy and mummy case of Paankhenamun,[10] as well as several gold and silver coins.
In addition to paintings, the Art Institute offers a Richmond Barthé "Boxer" (the Cuban featherweight, "Kid Chocolate"), 1942
 In his piece "The Octoroon Girl", (1925) Motley challenges the conventional image of an African American. While the woman in the painting fits the mold of "whiteness," she actually is 1/8 black. Breaking away from the traditional views of blacks was indicative of the time period. References such as octoroon or mulatto were used to describe how much "black blood" a person possessed. Motley takes this concept from a negative connotation to one that is independent of social status
Art Institute of Chicago - overview :

 

On May 16, 2009, the Art Institute opened the Modern Wing, the largest expansion in the museum's history.The 264,000-square-foot (24,500 m2) addition, designed by Renzo Piano, makes the Art Institute the second-largest museum in the US. The architect of record in the City of Chicago for this building was Interactive Design. The Modern Wing is home to the museum's collection of early 20th-century European art, including Pablo Picasso’s The Old Guitarist, Henri Matisse's Bathers by a River, and René Magritte’s Time Transfixed. It also houses contemporary art from after 1960; new photography, video media, architecture and design galleries including original renderings by Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Bruce Goff; temporary exhibition space; shops and classrooms; a cafe and a restaurant, Terzo Piano, that overlooks Millennium Park from its terrace. In addition, the Nichols Bridgeway connects a sculpture garden on the roof of the new wing with the adjacent Millennium Park to the north and a courtyard designed by Gustafson Guthrie Nichol. In 2009, the Modern Wing won a Chicago Innovation Awards.