“Bet your bottom dollar you’ll lose the blues in Chicago.”
                                                                    – Frank Sinatra’s Chicago

More than 1,000 skyscrapers make up Chicago’s landscape, but picturesque views of the skyline and the backdrop of Lake Michigan aren’t the only aesthetics offered in the Windy City.

While you might plan a trip to Chicago for its world-class shopping, signature cuisine or renowned entertainment and sporting events, you won’t truly be inspired until you check out the city’s myriad art museums and unusual public art displays.

Educational Institutions
As an educational hub of the Midwest, dozens of colleges and universities call Chicago home. Nestled within these institutions, art galleries full of classic and modern art can be found.

Located in Grant Park, the Art Institute of Chicago’s 1 million square feet of space makes it the second largest art museum in the United States, behind only the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Known for its permanent collection of impressionist and post-impressionist art, the institute’s impressive repertoire includes the works of Claude Monet and Vincent Van Gogh. The museum’s American collection features Grant Wood’s American Gothic and Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks.

The University of Chicago’s David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, located on the Hyde Park campus, contains more than 10,000 objects spanning 5 million years of Western and Eastern civilizations. As a part of the university, the museum’s goal is to provide lifelong learning among all audiences through understanding of the visual arts and their importance to history.

Loyola University Museum of Art (LUMA) is located a block from the Art Institute. Unlike other museums, its unique collection is dedicated to illuminating spiritual questions and concerns of cultures and societies around the world. Although it opened just five years ago, pieces in LUMA’s permanent collection date back to the early 12th century.

Modern Art
Art created since 1945 is the premise of the collection at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) on East Chicago Avenue. MCA is one of the country’s largest modern art museums, and its Post-World War II collection features a variety of mediums, including painting, sculpture, photography, video/film and performance. Notable work from artists such as Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns can also be found in its collection.

The Museum of Contemporary Photography, which also features a contemporary collection, is the only museum in the Midwest devoted exclusively to photography. Among the more than 7,000 photographs that make up the anthology are works by Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Dorthea Lange.

Out of the Ordinary
Navy Pier, the Windy City’s top tourist destination, allures visitors with its scenic views, sightseeing tours and amusement park. The 3,300-foot pier on the shoreline of Lake Michigan also plays host to the country’s first stained glass window museum, the aptly-named Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows.

This museum features a permanent display of more than 150 stained glass windows, most of which were once installed in Chicago buildings. The showcase, in the basement of Festival Hall, features work by well known-artists, including Louis Comfort Tiffany and John LaFarge. The exhibit of secular and religious windows also includes both historical pieces dating back to the 1800s, and contemporary pieces, including glass portraits of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and hometown favorite Michael Jordan.

Outdoor Art
During the summer of 1999, Chicago’s outdoor art scene made national news with the introduction of Cows on Parade, a four month-long exhibit of life-size fiberglass cows painted and decorated by local artists and displayed around the city.

The “parade,” an idea from Zurich, Switzerland, has now spread across the world’s major cities, where artists give their own herds a local flair. Smaller cities have also embraced spinoffs of the idea, such as Columbus’ Brutus on Parade and Cleveland’s Guitar Mania.

Chicago’s 300 cattle have since been auctioned off for charity, but after garnering attention from the exhibit, the public art scene in the city has continued to thrive.

Downtown Chicago’s “Loop,” a vibrant area filled with retail, housing, dining and entertainment, is also home to many of the city’s public art displays. The “Art Loop” area, roughly contained by Michigan Avenue, State Street, Dearborn Street and Lake Street, has 15 public art displays, including pieces by Pablo Picasso and Mark Chagall.

Millennium Park’s five attractions include one of Chicago’s most recognizable pieces of public art, Cloud Gate. This legume-shaped work is commonly referred to as “The Bean,” and its reflective stainless steel surface attracts hoards of visitors to the park every year. Visitors can enjoy a uniquely distorted view of the city, or snap a picture of their reflection.

For a map of the Art Loop walking tour, visit www.chicagoloopalliance.com.  

Anna Gerber is a contributing writer for CityScene.

If you go ...
Many Chicago museums are free, but those that charge admission offer free days if you can fit in a mid-week visit. Free days, listed below, can save visitors the $10 to $20 ticket many of these museums charge.

Loyola University Museum of Art: Tuesdays, all day
Museum of Contemporary Art: Tuesdays, all day
The Art Institute of Chicago: Thursdays, 5-8 p.m.