Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago distinguishes itself through its exceptional collection of late 19th- and early 20th-century French paintings, largely acquired through the patronage of Chicago millionaires such as Bertha and Potter Palmer. Their bequests, along with those of Annie Swan Coburn and Martin Ryerson, form the core of the museum's holdings of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masters. The museum was also an early champion of European modernism, staging the first major US exhibition of Vincent van Gogh in 1936 and incorporating works by Picasso and Duchamp into its permanent collection as early as 1933.