The history of the Art Institute of Chicago goes back to 1866, when a group of 35 artists founded the Chicago Academy of Design, wanting to run a school, where classes were held daily, that would have its own art gallery. 

The original building that housed the Academy was destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire, and so the members decided to fund another organization, the present day Art Institute of Chicago. Banker and philanthropist Charles L. Hutchinson is considered to be the man behind the Institute’s success, transforming it into a world-renowned museum.