Kehinde Wiley. “Barack Obama,” 2018. Oil on canvas. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution.

A portrait is a traditional way of commemorating a presidency. But the former president and first lady made a statement by choosing distinctive contemporary artists. This week, Chicago becomes the first city to host The Obama Portraits. Here’s a preview.

Design attributed to Agnes F. Northrop (American, 1857–1953), Tiffany Studios (American, 1902–32) Corona, New York. Hartwell Memorial Window (detail), 1917. (Courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago)

It is a heavenly depiction of a beautiful place on earth. It’s also a fine work of art and one of the newest acquisitions at the Art Institute of Chicago. We explore an illuminating landscape made from light and glass.

Bisa Butler. “Southside Sunday Morning,” 2018. Private collection. © Bisa Butler. (Photo by Margaret Fox)

History, music and photography are all stitched together in a show at the Art Institute of Chicago. We visit the pandemic-delayed exhibition “Bisa Butler: Portraits” to get the story behind these Technicolor textiles.

Claude Monet. Landscape with Figures, Giverny, 1888. Private collection.

Chicago is home to more Claude Monet paintings than any city other than Paris. That’s because the works of the famous French impressionist made a strong impression on local collectors. We explore the show “Monet and Chicago.” 

Chicago's museums are gradually reopening following loosening of coronavirus restrictions. (Heidi Zeiger / Office of the Mayor)

The Art Institute of Chicago will reopen Feb. 11, joining the list of museums preparing to welcome back visitors now that coronavirus restrictions are being loosened. 

The Garfield Park Conservatory has released teaser images in advance of the opening of "The Flowers of Monet" exhibit. (Garfield Park Conservatory / Facebook)
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The conservatory has transformed its Artist’s Garden into a reflection of Monet’s vision, featuring plants that inspired some of Impressionism’s most memorable paintings. The exhibit opens Saturday in tandem with “Monet and Chicago” at the Art Institute. 

This Friday, May 1, 2020 photo shows a lion statue with a mask placed on it at the Art Institute of Chicago. (Sam Kelly / Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, a mask adorning one of the iconic lion statues near the Michigan Avenue entrance to the Art Institute disappeared about 24 hours after it was applied.

El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos). “Christ Driving the Money Changers from the Temple,” about 1570. The Minneapolis Institute of Art, The William Hood Dunwoody Fund.

We preview the exhibition “El Greco: Ambition and Defiance” at the Art Institute of Chicago, which partnered with the Louvre and the Grand Palais for the show, and learn about the man behind the masterworks.

Andy Warhol. “Self-Portrait,” 1986. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; gift, Anne and Anthony d’Offay in honor of Thomas Krens. © 2019 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

He was called the Pope of Pop – pop art, that is. Andy Warhol predicted 15 minutes of fame for everyone. His own fame lasted decades and has endured since his untimely death in 1987. We explore “Andy Warhol – From A to B and Back Again.”

South lion at the Art Institute of Chicago. (Heather Paul / Flickr)

From the Picasso to the Bean to countless city murals, public art is a vibrant part of Chicago culture. But for over a century, Chicagoans have taken special pride in a pair of sculptures watching over Michigan Avenue. Geoffrey Baer explains.

Édouard Manet. “Jeanne (Spring),” 1881. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

For its big summer show this year, the Art Institute takes a fresh look at the early modern artist, Edouard Manet. We tour the show.

Paul Strand. Young Boy, Gondeville, Charente, France, 1951. Collection of Robin and Sandy Stuart. © Aperture Foundation, Inc. Paul Strand Archive.

Photography has long been used to make images of iconic works of art. Sometimes the photographs themselves become icons. A new show explores a collection of famous pictures from the 20th century.

Dawoud Bey. “Untitled #1 (Picket Fence and Farmhouse),” from the series “Night Coming Tenderly, Black,” 2017. Rennie Collection, Vancouver. © Dawoud Bey.

In a 1967 speech, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said the Underground Railroad “symbolized hope when freedom was almost an impossible dream.” Chicago photographer Dawoud Bey talks about his new exhibition, “Night Coming Tenderly, Black.” 

(Utagawa Toyokuni. A painting from One Hundred Looks of Various Women, 1816. Weston Collection.)

History, beauty and pleasure are on display in the first public showing of a standout collection of Japanese art. 

The Art Institute of Chicago in 1893 (Courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago)

Saturday marks 125 years since the opening of the historic building that houses the Art Institute of Chicago. We reflect on the past – and look to the future – with James Rondeau, the museum’s president and director.

Jim Nutt. “Wowidow,” 1968. The Art Institute of Chicago, The Lacy Armour and Samuel and Blanche Koffler Acquisition funds; the Estate of Walter Aitken. © Jim Nutt.

A new show at the Art Institute explores the work of a group of Chicago artists who made a strong impression on the art world in the 1960s.