A Day of Art in the Windy City

By Jessica Cuevas

There are many “must-sees” in Chicago, and while I was there for three weeks, most of my time was devoted to taking classes at the Chicago-Kent College of Law, so I had to pursue my many must-sees judiciously and leave a few out. But I can say with certainty that if the Art Institute of Chicago isn’t on your must-see list, it should be.

It is a majestic building, a beautiful classic building. And while I was amazed by the intricate exterior architectural elements, I was completely blown away by the artwork on the interior.

I have heard of people spending hours in an art museum, but I never thought I would spend five hours in an art museum. But I did. There was a lot to see, and I still didn’t see at all.

With all of that art, it is difficult to highlight only a few. But Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks is one of those.

Hopper has always been difficult for me to identify, but I certainly recognized this painting, with its emphasis on loneliness and isolation in the middle of a presumably large city.

And if you haven’t seen Nighthawks, you have likely seen images or replications of Georges Suerat’s Sunday on La Grande Jatte. In fact, in my old apartment, I had a jocular version of this painting featuring characters from The Office. The real painting is much better, if perhaps less humorous.

In one of the featured exhibits, Van Gogh and the Avant-Garde: The Modern Landscape, they featured the studies of Sunday on La Grande Jatte, amongst other impressionist works. This is where I was lucky to see the different versions of the sketches and the number of changes they underwent for the final version. Although Seurat’s style departs somewhat from impressionism, I did particularly like this painting after I saw how it all came together.

Other favorites of mine included the Chagall windows, a work by the ever-present Henry Moore, a Calder sculpture, a study of a work by Calatrava, and a piece by the wonderful Georgia Okeeffe.

Interestingly, I saw the larger versions of Calder’s and Calatrava’s works in Chicago… The Calder sculpture is 53-feet high!

BUT . . .however long I spent in the Museum, I had to make time for at least one sculpture outside the Museum: the Bean. Formally called “Cloud Gate,” this iconic sculpture by Anish Kapoor is one of Chicago’s key tourist attractions, and I confess I spent much time exploring its smooth, reflective surface, with selfie camera in hand!