ExhibitionFebruary 12, 2021
Monet and Chicago at the Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago reopened to the public on February 11. One of the exhibitions on view is Monet and Chicago, the first exhibition to explore Chicago’s pioneering connection to the great Impressionist artist.
When Monet’s paintings first appeared alongside his contemporaries’ in a Chicago gallery in 1888, he was singled out for praise by the press. And when his works were shown in the city again as part of the last Inter-State Industrial Exposition in Chicago (also known as the “American Salon”) in 1890, they not only captured the eye of local collectors—they ignited a collective passion. In 1891, Bertha and Potter Palmer acquired some 20 paintings by Monet—including several from the Stacks of Wheat series—a fraction of the 90 canvases they would come to own. That year, Martin A. Ryerson, who served as a trustee and eventual vice-president of the Art Institute, bought his first of many paintings by the artist. Inspired by these influential tastemakers, private groups and collectors eagerly followed their lead. In 1895, the Union League Club of Chicago purchased Apple Trees in Blossom (1872), which was also shown at the Art Institute that year in the exhibition 20 Works by Claude Monet, the artist’s first solo show at a museum in the United States. In 1903, the Art Institute became the first American museum to purchase one of Monet’s paintings and in the decades that followed, the museum’s collection grew thanks to generous gifts from several donors, including Annie Coburn, former two-time Chicago Mayor Carter Harrison Jr., the Searle family, and others.
The exhibition will be open until June 14, 2021. Other current exhibitions are: Bisa Botler: Portraits, whose works are exclusively made in fabric; Toulouse-Lautrec and the Celebrity Culture of Paris, with a comprehensive group of posters, paintings and painted objects depicting colorful personalities from the Paris of the time and Mark Rothko/Felix Gonzalez- Torres. For more information on the exhibitions and tickets visit: https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions
When Monet’s paintings first appeared alongside his contemporaries’ in a Chicago gallery in 1888, he was singled out for praise by the press. And when his works were shown in the city again as part of the last Inter-State Industrial Exposition in Chicago (also known as the “American Salon”) in 1890, they not only captured the eye of local collectors—they ignited a collective passion. In 1891, Bertha and Potter Palmer acquired some 20 paintings by Monet—including several from the Stacks of Wheat series—a fraction of the 90 canvases they would come to own. That year, Martin A. Ryerson, who served as a trustee and eventual vice-president of the Art Institute, bought his first of many paintings by the artist. Inspired by these influential tastemakers, private groups and collectors eagerly followed their lead. In 1895, the Union League Club of Chicago purchased Apple Trees in Blossom (1872), which was also shown at the Art Institute that year in the exhibition 20 Works by Claude Monet, the artist’s first solo show at a museum in the United States. In 1903, the Art Institute became the first American museum to purchase one of Monet’s paintings and in the decades that followed, the museum’s collection grew thanks to generous gifts from several donors, including Annie Coburn, former two-time Chicago Mayor Carter Harrison Jr., the Searle family, and others.
The exhibition will be open until June 14, 2021. Other current exhibitions are: Bisa Botler: Portraits, whose works are exclusively made in fabric; Toulouse-Lautrec and the Celebrity Culture of Paris, with a comprehensive group of posters, paintings and painted objects depicting colorful personalities from the Paris of the time and Mark Rothko/Felix Gonzalez- Torres. For more information on the exhibitions and tickets visit: https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions
