Among the many art anniversaries this year, the School of the Art Institute’s was the oldest and most venerable. What would Chicago’s cultural life consist of today if a small cadre of local artists had not banded together in 1866 to form an art school in our city? Instead of making the case for a long legacy of influence, “Civilization and Its Discontents,” as the anniversary exhibition of alumni work was titled, looked at only the last thirty years of SAIC’s influence. Why go any further back when only three decades could fill the gallery?
33 S. State, 7th floor, 312.629.6635, saic.edu/150
