Art Institute of Chicago.....a marathon.

After the morning boat trip, we spent six hours at the Art Institute of Chicago. This museum is amazing. They feature so many famous pieces by legendary artists.....Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, O'Keefe, Pollock, Warhol, Seurat, and many more I can't name. Even if you go at a steady clip, it's hard to get through the place in one day. We saw 95% of the collection (I think we missed the "Native American" section).

This is a painting by John Singer Sargent. It was huge.....bigger than life-size. The photo showing the full length woman is how it appears when you stand about 5-8 feet away from the piece. Below is what the painting looks like close up.....loose strokes and globs of paint. Sargent was a master at layering and light. Gorgeous painting.....!

This is the garden court where we relaxed and had a cold drink. This was our rest before tackling the second half of the museum.

The museum just opened it's brand new "modern wing" May 15th. We got to see the light and spacious building while it's still fresh and new. The collection here consists of many famous modern artists. I did feel this section was only going to improve as the collection of modern art expands into the large galleries. Andy Warhol is below followed by an amazing Jackson Pollock.

There also was a beautiful section of Asian and Roman sculpture and architectural artifacts. Much of this was centuries old and very rare. Very nicely displayed with awesome lighting.

More Chicago in the next post.....Oak Park and Frank Lloyd Wright.