ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO REINSTALLS CHAGALL'S AMERICA WINDOWS

AFTER A FIVE YEAR ABSENCE, THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO WILL REINSTALL ONE OF THE MOST BELOVED TREASURERS IN THE MUSEUM'S COLLECTION, MARC CHAGALL'S AMERICA WINDOWS. FOLLOWING AN INTENSIVE PERIOD OF RESEARCH AND CONSERVATION TREATMENT, THE AMERICA WINDOWS RETURN TO PUBLIC VIEW, AS THE STUNNING CENTERPIECE OF A NEW PRESENTATION OF PUBLIC ART IN CHICAGO ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE MUSEUM'S ARTHUR RUBLOFF BUILDING. THE MONUMENTAL PANELS OF STAINED GLASS, WHICH COMMEMORATE THE AMERICAN BICENTENNIAL AND WERE CREATED BY CHAGALL ESPECIALLY FOR THE ART INSTITUTE IN HONOUR OF CHICAGO'S MAYOR RICHARD J DALEY, HAVE BEEN ENJOYED BY MILLIONS OF MUSEUM VISITORS SINCE THEIR ORIGINAL DEDICATION ON 15.MAY.1977. THE WINDOWS WERE REMOVED IN MAY 2005 TO PROTECT THEM DURING THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE MUSEUM'S MODERN WING, WHICH OPENED IN 2009. CURATORS AND CONSERVATORS WERE ABLE TO WORK EXTENSIVELY ON THE WINDOWS DURING THESE YEARS TO CLEAN, EXAMINE, RESTORE AND RESEARCH CHAGALL'S MASTERPIECE. THE RE-INSTALLATION OF THE AMERICA WINDOWS WILL BE A CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION AMONG CHICAGOANS AS WELL AS MUSEUM VISITORS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. MARC CHAGALL FIRST CONCEIVED OF THE IDEA FOR THE AMERICA WINDOWS IN 1974 WHEN HE VISITED CHICAGO FOR THE UNVEILING OF HIS MOSAIC IN THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK PLAZA. AT THE TIME, CHAGALL LEARNED THAT A GALLERY IN HIS HONOR WAS BEING PLANNED AS PART OF THE ART INSTITUTE'S 1970s EXPANSION PROGRAM AND OFFERED TO CREATE THE WINDOWS FOR THE GALLERY. AFTER WORKING ON THE WINDOWS' DESIGN, CHAGALL ANNOUNCED THAT THE THEME FOR THE WINDOWS WOULD BE THE AMERICAN BICENTENNIAL, AND, WHEN HE LEARNED OF MAYOR DALEY'S DEATH IN 1976, HE DECIDED THAT THE WINDOWS WOULD ALSO SERVE AS A MEMORIAL TO THE LATE MAYOR. CHAGALL DESIGNED THE AMERICA WINDOWS EXPRESSLY FOR THE ART INSTITUTE AND CREATED THEM IN COLLABORATION WITH THE FRENCH STAINED-GLASS ARTIST CHARLES MARQ. MARQ FABRICATED 36 COLOURED GLASS PANELS TO CHAGALL'S SPECIFICATIONS, AND CHAGALL HIMSELF PAINTED HIS DESIGN ONTO THE GLASS PANELS USING METALLIC OXIDE PAINTS THAT WERE PERMANENTLY FUSED TO THE GLASS THROUGH A SUBSEQUENT HEATING PROCESS. THE WINDOWS, MEASURING MORE THAN EIGHT FEET IN HEIGHT AND MORE THAN THIRTY FEET IN WIDTH, ARE EACH MADE UP OF THREE PARTS, EACH WITH TWELVE SEPARATE SECTIONS.