I first experienced the Art Institute of Chicago during Illinois Tech Night at the Art Institute, on September 11, 2025, an event organized by the Office of Student Life. Entering its vast halls did not feel like simply stepping into a museum; rather, it felt like I was walking into a continuous conversation that has been going on for centuries. Far from being an intrusion, the experience carried a sense of welcome, as though the ongoing conversation between past and present had always made room for new voices.
I am a big fan of walking in museums for hours, with a bottle of cold water in hand, gazing at the artwork, and reading the history behind them. If that’s not your cup of tea, you’re missing out. But, even though I was inside the walls of this museum for hours in the end, there were still parts of the museum I missed out on, and I plan to go back as soon as I can. I present to you the list of paintings and artworks that not only captured my time, but also captured my soul.
“Picture of Dorian Gray” by Ivan Albright
Ivan Albright painted the “Picture of Dorian Gray” for the 1945 movie adaptation of the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. In the novel, Dorian Gray remains outwardly youthful and attractive while his portrait absorbs the corruption of his soul, growing grotesque with each moral transgression. He hides behind a facade, made of youth, beauty, and innocence, when in reality, his true self was far from it. Albright translates this idea into paint with extraordinary detail; the way the figure of Gray in the portrait is decayed and distorted. Standing before the painting, taking in every detail of the portrait, you can sense the tension between beauty and corruption, innocence and immorality, much like Wilde’s writing itself. The artwork makes the novel’s themes tangible, reminding views that what is unseen, within oneself, can be far more terrifying than any external reality.
“American Gothic” by Grant Wood
The Art Institute of Chicago houses the original painting of American Gothic, which was painted by Grant Wood in 1930, during the Great Depression. It is an iconic painting depicting a farmer and his daughter stare right back with an accusatory calm and stoicness. They stand outside of their home, which was built in an 1880s style known as Carpenter Gothic. Their rigid posture and solemn expressions speak to resilience, tradition, and unspoken burdens. Many interpreted the work as a satire of Midwesterners resistant to modern change. However, Wood’s true intention was to present a respectful image of rural American values; a reassurance vision during the uncertainty of the Great Depression.
“Paradise Lost” by Raqib Shaw
Raqib Shaw, born in Calcutta and raised in the verdant Himalayan mountains of Kashmir, depicts the memories of his early life, most of which was fractured by political upheaval, on the beautiful landscapes. His work drew inspiration from various sources, such as Mughal and Persian miniatures, Renaissance altarpieces, Old Masters paintings, Japanese arts of the Momoyama period, Kashmiri and Urdu poetry, and Hindu and Western mythology. Though, his technique and visual vocabulary are all his own. The art work consists of 21 panels and is more than 100-feet-wide. Each panel is filled with some sort of symbolism, consisting of mythical creatures, hybrids, collapsing kingdoms, and natural beauty. Standing before it, you get drawn into a world where myth and modernity collide, where paradise is never stable but always on the verge of loss. This work often reminded me that beauty often lies in the tension between order and disorder, and the sooner you accept it as it is, the better.
“The Silence of Glacier” by Kay WalkingStick
Painted across two joined wooden panels, this depicts Glacier National Park peaks in the quiet times, just before the winter’s first snowfall. WalkingStick’s work captures the stillness and grandeur of nature with a quiet reverence. The glacier’s stillness evokes a certain kind of introspection amongst the viewers, causing them to take a moment to pause and recognize the immensity of the world beyond ourselves.
“America Windows” by Marc Chagall
This work was gifted by Marc Chagall, celebrating the US Bicentennial, to the Art Institute of Chicago in 1977. The windows depict a combination of US history, the Chicago skyline, and the arts. Reading the artwork from left to right, each panel represents music, painting, literature, architecture, theater, and dance. Chagall’s stained-glass-like composition celebrates optimism and imagination. Composed of whimsical colors and floating figures, it grounds the viewers to hope, creativity, and the stories that lift a nation’s spirit.
“Into the World There Came a Soul Called Ida” by Ivan Albright
With a mirror in hand and powder on her chest, the woman in the painting is surrounded by the familiar tokens of fashion and beauty. Yet instead of radiating youth and vitality, she appears anything but. Ida Rogers herself was 19 years old at the time when she posed for the artist. Rather than functioning as a traditional portrait, the painting acts as a precise reflection on mortality and the complex interplay of mind and body. The work transcends portraiture, depicting the relentless passage of time, and the uneasy bond between flesh and spirit. This work brought me back to the fact that our lives in this world are as temporary as it can be, and we all grow old, and return to the soil when our days are over.