Usa Holidays - Event

Bronze lions guard the Art Institute of Chicago's entrance, one of the world's finest art museums, downtown. Works by Monet, Cassatt, Renoir and Degas are on show, as are collections of African, Ancient American and 'modern' American art.

The Art Institute of Chicago is particularly well known for its collection of 19th-century French painting. Though Gauguin, Cézanne and Van Gogh grace the walls, the most famous of the French works include the amazing A Sunday Afternoon on La Grand Jatte by Georges Seurat, the eerily picturesque Paris Street; Rainy Day by Gustave Caillebotte and On the Bank of the Seine, Bennecourt by Claude Monet.

In addition to Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterworks, the museum's permanent collection houses more than 300,000 works of art. There is a substantial collection of African, Asian, American and Ancient Art, as well as an intriguing Arms and Armour collection. The Modern Art collection is fine as well, featuring Edward Hopper's Nighthawks and Grant Wood's American Gothic, among others.

Situated in a pleasant location in the heart of downtown Chicago, the original building (in which the museum is still housed) was built in 1893. The museum shop and connected libraries are extensive and, with several exhibitions going on at any one time, this is a Chicago landmark not to be missed.