Art Institute of Chicago
Art museum in Chicago
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| March 3 2025 | The Art Institute of Chicago announced the return of a 12th-century Nepali sculpture, Buddha Sheltered by the Serpent King Muchalinda, to the government of Nepal after confirming it was stolen from Guita Bahi in the Kathmandu Valley. The schist-carved sculpture had been in the museum's collection since 1997. |
| February 2025 | Received a significant donation from collectors Jeffrey and Carol Horvitz, comprising nearly 2,000 drawings, 200 paintings, and 50 sculptures by French artists like Jacques-Louis David and François Boucher, spanning the 16th to 19th centuries, with additional financial support pledged for conservation and research. |
| 2024 | The museum returned a 12th-century sandstone pilaster depicting Krishna lifting Mount Govardhana to Thailand, after provenance research revealed its true origin from the Phanom Rung temple in northeastern Thailand, contrary to its previous believed Cambodian provenance. |
| September 2024 | Announced a $75 million donation from collectors Aaron I. Fleischman and Lin Lougheed, the largest naming gift in the museum's history, designated for developing The Aaron I. Fleischman and Lin Lougheed Building to showcase late 19th-century, modern, and contemporary art. |
| February 2024 | The Manhattan District Attorney filed a motion accusing the Art Institute of ignoring evidence of fraud in the provenance of the Egon Schiele watercolor, alleging forged documents from Swiss art dealer Eberhard Kornfeld. The Art Institute disputed these claims, and court hearings were ongoing. |
| 2023 | The Manhattan District Attorney's Office attempted to seize Egon Schiele paintings, including the watercolor Russian War Prisoner from the Art Institute, claiming they were looted by Nazis from Fritz Grünbaum during the Holocaust. |
| 2022 | Museum welcomed 1.04 million visitors, a 20% increase from 2021, though still below pre-COVID-19 pandemic (2018) attendance levels. The museum was ranked tenth among the most-visited museums in the United States and sixth most-visited U.S. art museum. |
| 2021 | The Art Institute ended its long-standing unpaid volunteer docent program and transitioned to a paid model, sparking public debate about diversity and museum practices. |
| 2020 | The Art Institute of Chicago formally established its dedicated Provenance Research Department to conduct comprehensive research across its entire collection, acquisitions, and loans. |
| 2018 | The Art Institute of Chicago redesigned its website and released images of 52,438 public domain works under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license, making these artworks freely accessible to the public. |
| June 2018 | Received a $50 million donation, the largest single announced unrestricted monetary donation in the museum's history. |
| 2016 | Received a $35 million gift from longtime supporter Dorothy Braude Edinburg. |
| 2016 | James Rondeau becomes director, leading the Art Institute of Chicago from 2016 to the present time. |
| 2016 | 'American Gothic' was loaned outside of North America for the first time since entering the museum's collection in 1930. |
| 2015 | Received potentially the largest art gift in its history from collectors Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson, including works by major contemporary artists like Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, and Cindy Sherman, with an agreement to display the collection for at least 50 years. |
| 2014 | The docent program began efforts to attract a more diverse socioeconomic set of art-tour guides, recognizing the challenges of the unpaid time commitment. |
| 2014 | Named the world's best museum in Tripadvisor's inaugural survey after reviewing millions of travelers' surveys. |
| October 2012 | Sold approximately $100 million in taxable and tax-exempt bonds to address unfunded pension obligations. |
| 2011 | The Art Institute of Chicago auctioned multiple significant artworks at Christie's in London, including two Picasso paintings (Sur l'impériale traversant la Seine from 1901 and Verre et pipe from 1919), a Henri Matisse work from 1919, and a Georges Braque painting from 1938. |
| 2011 | Received a $10 million gift from the Jaharis Family Foundation to renovate and expand galleries dedicated to Greek, Roman, and Byzantine art, and support related acquisitions and exhibitions. |
| 2011 | Douglas Druick takes over as director, serving from 2011 to 2016. |
| 2010 | The Art Institute of Chicago filed a $10 million lawsuit against the engineering firm Ove Arup, alleging flaws in the concrete floors and air-circulation systems of the recently opened Modern Wing. The lawsuit was subsequently settled out of court. |
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