Art and Foodie Weekend

La Carmencita, the star of the show!

John Singer Sargent and Chicago's Gilded Age

We were so lucky to get away for a weekend to Chicago. We chose Chicago because I knew there was a special exhibit of Sargent's artwork, John Singer Sargent and Chicago's Gilded Age.**** (four out of four stars) at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Before we left for our trip, I downloaded the Art Institute of Chicago App (highly recommend) to my iphone. One advantage of the app is the ability to key in the numbers of the audio for the show artworks. We enjoyed the interesting insights the art specialists shared- bring your earbuds! Otherwise you have to pay for audio.

The Sargent show was fantastic, a must see! In person you can see the brushstrokes and the size of the works! La Carmencita is extra large, she seemed to be fifteen feet tall and she glowed! I took a million photos, but wanted only to show you a few of my favorites.  Also, there were works by Sargent contemporaries--I loved them! Boldini, Zorn, and Chase--oh how I loved their portraits and style, they called to me. Here are a few photos that I took from the exhibit, of course see it in person if you can!

Of course, the Art Institute Chicago has other fabulous famous works on exhibit too! We enjoyed seeing American Gothic, Nighthawks and other famous works--and I loved the enormous Georgia O'Keeffe! We enjoyed it all and spent most of the day at the museum.

In addition to art, Chicago has great food everywhere! Chicago is a foodie town, with deep dish pizza, Italian pasta, and weekend brunch!  I asked the concierge for a few recommendations  (I encourage you do to the same, most were within walking distance of our hotel). Also, aside from walking, we used Lyft to get around, it worked perfectly and I will say only call for a Lyft when you are at the waiting area, ready to go (typically they arrived within 3 minutes or less, once they were already in front of our hotel, so you have to be ready)!

Here is a link to a wonderful article about the Chicago Sargent Exhibit:
http://www.chicagomag.com/arts-culture/July-2018/How-John-Singer-Sargent-Made-Chicago-an-Art-Town/#/0

My photos from the exhibit and from touring the museum modern and impressionist age.

 

My recommendations:

• Download the Art Institute Chicago App (& take your headphones)
• Use Lyft to get around Chicago 
• Talk to the concierge at your hotel about restaurant recommendations
• Plan on spending half the day at the art museum (wearing comfy shoes)
• Don't Overpack, save a little room in your bag for the John Singer Sargent & Chicago's Gilded Age hardback book --available at the museum store, $40.
• Skip the Willis Tower, Sky Deck. It was packed packed with people and you could see city views, but the lines for the elevator and for the Window Tilt were outrageous, we stood in them forever and never moved. It felt like more than 600 people were in line. And, the line to get back down the elevator went halfway around the building and took over a half hour. We decided it was a waste of our time and money! Skip it!