During winter 2023, I visited The Art Institute of Chicago. I was greeted by two massive green lions outside the steps, then into a tall grand foyer. To my right was a beautifully overpriced gift shop and to the left, a pay to enter exhibition sectioned off to hide the Picassos’ hidden behind a $50 fee. I went upstairs to find a grand staircase leading to a gallery of Monet.
Monet is one of my all time favorite painters. The serene Monet exhibit was elaborate as it was extensive. As was much of the rest of the museum. I’d also found a painting that had been on my Pinterest board since I was 12, the lonely diner. It’s clear to say, this museum packs a lot of heavy hitting art pieces. Not only in amount but in gravitas as well.
This museum functions as part of a curatorial art school, SAIC, a more exclusive one in that way, with a 52% acceptance rate.
Though I came an hour before closing, the museum was expansive and peaceful enough to spend the whole day there. I wandered through corridors adorned with sculptures, paintings, and artifacts, each telling its own story. The museum becomes a sanctuary for contemplation and inspiration, where the boundaries between past and present blur, and the beauty of art transcends time. They offer many events and workshops to the patrons, and I will be making my way back there partake in it all, as well as a stroll to the gift shop for an umbrella printed with Monet’s water lilies.
Pieces of Paitra 
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