Things to do in Chicago - The Art Institute of Chicago

This Institue is said to hold of the world’s great art collections and for this reason is commonly visited by turists. The museum is also associated with School of the Art Institute of Chicago. It displays various collections like The Ernest R. Graham Study Center for Architectural Drawings with more than 130,000 architectural sketches. The African & Amerindian collection gathers masks, wood sculptures, textiles, ceramics, and furniture.  The European Decorative Arts collection consists of  25,000 objects covering almost 800 years up to 1900. The European Painting collection features 950 works from Middle Ages to 1900. It is believed that it is French painting of the 19th century that holds  prime within the collection. There is also Textiles collection with wide number of very old samples (velvets, silks, needlework etc.) from Europe, Asia, Africa, North America,  Indonesia  and Mexico.  The Institute boasts its Department of Modern and Contemporary Art with over 1,500 finnest quality paintings and sculptures from Europe and America. The Art Institute includes facilities like restaurant, café and a museum shop.