The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879 has approximately 300,000 works of art in its permanent collection. This collection is housed in eight buildings—nearly one million square feet—at the heart of Chicago, one block from Lake Michigan and serving as the eastern anchor of the city’s downtown. In addition to displaying the permanent collection, they host 30 special exhibitions and hundreds of gallery talks, lectures, performances, and events every year. They have one of the finest research libraries for art and architecture in the country, as well as state-of-the-art conservation facilities.
http://www.artic.edu
