Tag Archives: The Art Institute

Exploring Chicago’s Art Institute: Part 5

8 August, 2014Chicago, Travelart, library, museum, The Art InstituteJames Moore

Finished! I have visited all that I can visit at Chicago’s Art Institute. Definitely a museum that needs many days to explore. I now have a decent foundational knowledge of what is on offer and how to navigate the labyrinthian galleries.

Paris Street; Rainy Day – Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894)

I realize that I am extremely lucky to have this museum on my doorstep (literally a walk of only five minutes from work). A good place to decompress.

Still Life with Dead Game, Fruits and Vegetables in a Market – Frans Snyders (1579-1657)

I will be heading back to look in more detail. The less-visited galleries are fun to walk through, lacking the hustle and bustle mainstay galleries. You also get to see artworks that just look a little strange… Such as “Still Life with Dead Game, Fruits and Vegetables in a Market.” The market trader looks like a precursor to Santa Claus.

Ryerson and Burnham Libraries

Lower Level
- Photography (1-4, 10) – Visited
- Thorne Miniature Rooms (11) – Visited
- Paperweights (15) – Visited
- Architecture and Design (24) – Visited
- Textiles – Visited
First Level
- Prints and Drawings (124-127) – Visited
- Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan Art (140-143) – Visited
- Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Art (101–109, 130-135) – Visited
- Indian Art of the Americas (136) – Visited
- African Art – Visited
- American Decorative Arts 1920–1970 (162) – Visited
- Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art (150-154) – Visited
- American Art before 1900 (161-179) – Visited
- Chagall’s America Windows (144) – Visited
- Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room – Visited
- Ryerson and Burnham Libraries – Visited
Second Level
- Chicago Architecture (200) – Visited
- European Art before 1900 (201–248) – Visited
- American Folk Art (227) – Visited
- European Decorative Arts (231-234) – Visited
- Arms and Armor (235-237) – Visited
- Renaissance Jewelry (237) – Visited
- Impressionism (225-226, 201, 240-243) – Visited
- American Modern Art 1900-1950 (261-265, 271-273) – Visited
- Special Exhibitions (Regenstein Hall) – Visited
Modern Wing
- Special Exhibitions (182-184) – Visited
- Photography (188) – Visited
- Film Video and New Media (186) – Visited
- Architecture and Design (283-286) – Visited
- Contemporary Art 1945-1960 (289) – Visited
- Contemporary Art After 1960 (288, 291-299) – Visited
- European Modern Art 1900 – 1950 (389-399) – Visited
- Contemporary Sculpture – Visited

Exploring Chicago’s Art Institute: Part 4

6 August, 2014Chicago, Travelart, malvina hoffman, museum, The Art Institute, toulouse-lautrecJames Moore

Still working my way through Chicago’s Art Institute. The current status of visited galleries is:

Lower Level
- Photography (1-4, 10) – Visited
- Thorne Miniature Rooms (11) – Visited
- Paperweights (15) – Visited
- Architecture and Design (24) – Visited
- Textiles – Visited
First Level
- Prints and Drawings (124-127) – Visited
- Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan Art (140-143) – Visited
- Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Art (101–109, 130-135) – Visited
- Indian Art of the Americas (136) – Visited
- African Art – Visited
- American Decorative Arts 1920–1970 (162) – Visited
- Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art (150-154) – Visited
- American Art before 1900 (161-179) – Visited
- Chagall’s America Windows (144) – Visited
- Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room – Visited
Second Level
- Chicago Architecture (200)
- European Art before 1900 (201–248)
- American Folk Art (227) – Visited
- European Decorative Arts (231-234)
- Arms and Armor (235-237) – Visited
- Renaissance Jewelry (237) – Visited
- Impressionism (225-226, 201, 240-243) – Visited
- American Modern Art 1900-1950 (261-265, 271-273) – Visited
- Special Exhibitions (Regenstein Hall) – Visited

Portrait of Jeanne Wenz – Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901)

Only three more areas to explore (Chicago Architecture, European Art before 1900, European Decorative Arts), and then I am done. But not really. I know that the winter months will find me here at lunch, and I will also have to take a deeper look at the various apps that the museum has created.

Head of Pavlova – Malvina Hoffman (1887-1966)

Exploring Chicago’s Art Institute: Part 3

29 July, 2014Chicago, Travelarmor, art, museum, renaissance jewelry, sculpture, The Art InstituteJames Moore

Sculpture Court

The exploration of Chicago’s Art Institute continues. Yesterday, I visited the Sculpture Court and American Art before 1900. That pretty much finished the first level.

The Cafe – Fernand Lungren (1859 – 1932)

This seems (along with textiles) to be one of the quieter parts of the museum. There is plenty of space to take in the art works, and is a good place to decompress when tired of the heaving mob in some of the more highly-trafficked galleries.

The Herring Net – Winslow Homer (1836 – 1910)

Lower Level
- Photography (1-4, 10) – Visited
- Thorne Miniature Rooms (11) – Visited
- Paperweights (15) – Visited
- Architecture and Design (24) – Visited
- Textiles – Visited
First Level
- Prints and Drawings (124-127) – Visited
- Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan Art (140-143) – Visited
- Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Art (101–109, 130-135) – Visited
- Indian Art of the Americas (136) – Visited
- African Art – Visited
- American Decorative Arts 1920–1970 (162) – Visited
- Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art (150-154) – Visited
- American Art before 1900 (161-179) – Visited
- Chagall’s America Windows (144) – Visited
- Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room – Visited
Second Level
- Chicago Architecture (200)
- European Art before 1900 (201–248)
- American Folk Art (227)
- European Decorative Arts (231-234)
- Arms and Armor (235-237) – Visited
- Renaissance Jewelry (237) – Visited
- Impressionism (225-226, 201, 240-243)
- American Modern Art 1900-1950 (261-265, 271-273)
- Special Exhibitions (Regenstein Hall)

Today, Arms and Armor and Renaissance Jewelry were my galleries of choice on the second level.

Exploring Chicago’s Art Institute: Part 2

25 July, 2014Chicago, Travelart, Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room, museum, prints, The Art InstituteJames Moore

What May Come

Continuing my exploration of The Art Institute. Almost finished with the First Level, and wandered about:

Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan Art
Prints and Drawings
Chagall’s America Windows
Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room

Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room

One more gallery to see on the First Level, and for this I will, see how well the museum’s guidebook apps work.

Lower Level
- Photography (1-4, 10) – Visited
- Thorne Miniature Rooms (11) – Visited
- Paperweights (15) – Visited
- Architecture and Design (24) – Visited
First Level
- Prints and Drawings (124-127) – Visited
- Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan Art (140-143) – Visited
- Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Art (101–109, 130-135) – Visited
- Indian Art of the Americas (136) – Visited
- African Art – Visited
- American Decorative Arts 1920–1970 (162)
- Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art (150-154) – Visited
- American Art before 1900 (161-179)
- Chagall’s America Windows (144) – Visited
- Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room – Visited
Second Level
- Chicago Architecture (200)
- European Art before 1900 (201–248)
- American Folk Art (227)
- European Decorative Arts (231-234)
- Arms and Armor (235-237)
- Renaissance Jewelry (237)
- Impressionism (225-226, 201, 240-243)
- American Modern Art 1900-1950 (261-265, 271-273)
- Special Exhibitions (Regenstein Hall)

Exploring Chicago’s Art Institute: Part 1

24 July, 2014Chicago, Travelart, Chicago, gallery, modern art, The Art InstituteJames Moore

Mother and Child

As mentioned earlier, my mid-year resolution was to properly explore Chicago’s Art Institute. I am slowly making progress. Phase one was the Modern Wing, which I fully explored last week:

Special Exhibitions (182-184) – Visited
Photography (188) – Visited
Film Video and New Media (186) – Visited
Architecture and Design (283-286) – Visited
Contemporary Art 1945-1960 (289) – Visited
Contemporary Art After 1960 (288, 291-299) – Visited
European Modern Art 1900 – 1950 (389-399) – Visited
Contemporary Sculpture – Visited

The Eventuality of Destiny

From my perspective, the third-floor gallery “European Modern Art 1900 – 1950” was the one that I enjoyed the most. There is a profusion of art there, but just enough space and light to prevent everything overlapping and distracting. This will probably be the gallery that I return to most.

Clown Torture

Whilst there, I did see a school group (kids about seven or eight years in age) mistake Bruce Nauman’s “Clown Torture” for something they would enjoy. They soon left, with a chastened school guide. Plenty of nightmare material…

Waka onna (young woman) No Mask

This week, I started to work my way through the “non-modern” museum. Visited the lower levels, and started on some of the galleries on the first level:

Lower Level
- Photography (1-4, 10) – Visited
- Thorne Miniature Rooms (11) – Visited
- Paperweights (15) – Visited
- Architecture and Design (24) – Visited
First Level
- Prints and Drawings (124-127)
- Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan Art (140-143)
- Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Art (101–109, 130-135) – Visited
- Indian Art of the Americas (136) – Visited
- African Art – Visited
- American Decorative Arts 1920–1970 (162)
- Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art (150-154)
- American Art before 1900 (161-179)
- Chagall’s America Windows (144)
- Chicago Stock Exchange Trading Room
Second Level
- Chicago Architecture (200)
- European Art before 1900 (201–248)
- American Folk Art (227)
- European Decorative Arts (231-234)
- Arms and Armor (235-237)
- Renaissance Jewelry (237)
- Impressionism (225-226, 201, 240-243)
- American Modern Art 1900-1950 (261-265, 271-273)
- Special Exhibitions (Regenstein Hall)

Josef Koudelka – Carriage

10 July, 2014Mobileart, gallery, Josef Koudelka, Mid-Year Resolution, museum, photography, resolution, The Art Institute, The Modern WingJames Moore

Mid-Year Resolution: Chicago’s Art Institute

10 July, 2014Chicagoart, gallery, Josef Koudelka, Mid-Year Resolution, museum, photography, resolution, The Art Institute, The Modern WingJames Moore

The Modern Wing

My mid-year resolution was to properly explore Chicago’s Art Institute. The museum is only a few blocks from work, so the plan is to visit a gallery a day. This humble plan is a little intimidating, so phase one will be the Modern Wing. The collections there are suitably impressive, but there are fewer galleries to explore.

According to the floor plan my checklist is:

Special Exhibitions (182-184)
Photography (188) – Visited
Film Video and New Media (186)
Architecture and Design (283-286)
Contemporary Art 1945-1960 (289)
Contemporary Art After 1960 (288, 291-299)
European Modern Art 1900 – 1950 (389-399)
Contemporary Sculpture

Each day I will visit a new gallery, and take a picture with Instagram of something that takes my fancy.

Today I checked off Photography with a particularly impressive collection of the work of Josef Koudelka, a Czech-born French photographer with amazing pictures of the 1968 invasion of Prague, Gypsies, panoramas of the English-French Channel, and theatre performers.

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James Moore's extemporaneous website