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Who doesn’t enjoy checking out highlights. If I miss a big baseball or basketball game, I tune into Youtube and catch the best plays and action with a ten minute highlight clip. I feel Chicago Art Institute Tours with Chicago Museum Tours does a similar service although it is 2.5 hours of Art Institute highlights at a place you could spend days at.

Renoir – Two Sisters seen with Chicago Museum Tours

Chicago Art Institute Tours starts with the lions with Chicago Museum Tours

Our group met outside the building on Michigan Ave. by the lions. We were put into small groups and given a tour leader. We were placed with Anthony, and we lucked out by getting him as he was phenomenal. Our first stop was the miniature rooms. We learned about a generous benefactor that made the rooms possible and moved onto the paintings.

Who does not like a Monet haystack

Chicago Museum Tours – French Impressionist room

Growing up, I took French language in middle school and kept learning all the way into college. My interest in the language soon extended into history. I ended up getting a Master’s Degree in History, and I wrote my thesis on a World War I era French politician. I also studied the World War II Normandy Campaign in Caen, France during my senior year at the University of Tennessee as a Normandy Scholar. I love all things French. In fact, one of my favorite paintings from this tour brought back pleasant memories from Normandy. It was the Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare by Monet. I could almost taste the calvados looking at this painting.

My personal favorite due to my time spent in Normandy – Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare, 1877 – Claude Monet

Related: Normandy Scholar influenced me to become a traveler 

Although the French Impressionist wing was not that large, it packed a punch with some famous examples from the era. There were Monet haystacks, Van Gogh self-portraits, and the incredible Sunday on La Grande Jatte painting from Georges Seurat. I remember studying this painting way back in middle school.

A Sunday on La Grande Jatte – Georges Seurat

French Impressionist story

Our tour guide did a great job talking about the personal histories of some of the painters. The French Impressionists were a group of geniuses who were way ahead of their time and grossly under appreciated during their time. Artists are often tortured souls to begin with, but then to have the additional weight of having such a talent not recognized, must have weighed heavily on them. Some were able to survive thanks to wealthy family or personal benefactors.

Impossible to recreate Raqib Shaw’s beautiful Paradise Lost in a photo

Raqib Shaw – Paradise Lost

The next highlight was the incredibly imaginative Paradise Lost by Raqib Shaw. One could spend hours on this painting alone, but we were just doing highlights, so we gawked for 10-15 minutes at this epic story while Anthony gave us some background. The painting is drawn from Raqib’s childhood in India. He grew up in Kashmir, where he was forced to leave, and spent time in New Delhi before ending up in London.

Edward Hopper – Nighthawks

Stops for famous paintings including Nighthawks

While I am not an art history aficionado, I found that I know a little bit more about famous painting than I realized, and I was impressed by how many famous painting the Art Institute features. For instance, Nighthawks by Edward Hopper was a painting I am familiar with that we got to see.

There were a lot of moments like that on the tour. Exclamations of, oh, I know that one, which is a great recipe for a great time. We always crave the familiar when we are in a sea of unknown. Museum Tours of Chicago did a great job of guiding us through this maize of unknown with stops at the familiar. It is like going to a concert and hearing a song you love by someone that you did not even know they sang that song.

American Gothic featuring the family dentist – Grant Wood

I know that painting part 2 – American Gothic

Another one of these moments was at the next stop when we visited the painting American Gothic by Grant Wood. I sure thought that was a Norman Rockwell painting. I was wrong on that account, but I was familiar with the work. Anthony informed us that the model for this painting was the painter’s sister and the family dentist, not a husband and wife as one might believe. It was nice to get these backstories you would not get on a personal visit of the museum.

Norman Rockwell – Dugout

Speaking of Norman Rockwell – Go Cubs

Speaking of Norman Rockwell, our next stop was just that. The Art Institute recently acquired the Dugout by Norman Rockwell featuring the 1948 Chicago Cubs. It is the first Norman Rockwell piece to be displayed at the Art Institute. While I was unfamiliar with this work, of course, I know who Norman Rockwell is. It was amazing to see one of his works.

Marc Chagall – American Windows

Chicago Museum Tours – Marc Chagall – American Windows

As I mentioned earlier, I studied French history and France was one of my first countries visited. Therefore, anything French perks my interest and the next stop was a display of beautiful painted glass by French icon Marc Chagall. I am pretty sure I visited some of his works in France, so it was really amazing to see this gorgeous display of colors in my hometown. Marc Chagall made this work to celebrate the American bicentennial  in 1977. He gave the work to the Art Institute as a gift. It is a gift that keeps giving.

Pablo Picasso – Man with the Blue Guitar

Pablo Picasso

Another I know that painting moment was the Man with the Blue Guitar by Pablo Picasso. There were several Picasso paintings on display including the Red Armchair and the Man with the Pipe. This brought back memories for me when I visited the Picasso Museum in Barcelona while in college. We also visited paintings from Picasso’s contemporary, Salvador Dali before moving on.

Chicago Museum Tours – Andy Warhol room

Another iconic artist that everyone knows is Andy Warhol, and his room was one of the last stops on the tour. The Four Mona Lisas, Little Race Riot, and the Twelve Jackies were some highlights. Twelve Jackies are a series of cropped photographs from John F. Kennedy’s funeral of the First Lady veiled in mourning. Viewing a series of painting from a modern painter who was alive and working when I was alive, was a great way to end the tour.

Andy Warhol – Twelve Jackies

Highly recommend Chicago Museum Tours

I thoroughly enjoyed the tour and would highly recommend. Here are some benefits of their tours listed on their webpage:

• All tours are fully inclusive – no need to purchase a ticket
• By-pass any lines for early entry into the museum
• Expert guides
• Private tours are customizable
• Tours move at a comfortable pace instead of rushing through
• Small group of 12 or less
• Your money supports a local business and local jobs

Disclosure

While I was not paid for the service of writing this review, I did receive a complimentary ticket and tour through Travel Massive’s Chicago chapter. Despite the complimentary ticket, it did not persuade me to write a positive review. I enjoyed the tour, and I would have gladly paid for it, and I would not hesitate to pay for one in the future. It was definitely worthwhile, and I am sure anyone who feels that visiting a huge museum is somewhat daunting would enjoy the tour.

Adventure on!