Art Institute of Chicago

Search and browse the Art Institute of Chicago's collection of more than 130,000 works through its public API. Find artworks by subject, artist, place, period, medium or gallery; pull a full catalogue record with ready-to-use image links; look up an artist; see which exhibitions are on and what is happening at the museum this week; and check the opening hours. No account or API key is required.

Actions

Action	What it does
Find artworks by artist	List everything one artist made, by name: no ID lookup first.
Get an artist	Fetch one artist's record by ID: their dates, the names they are also known by, the museum's biography, and their Getty ULAN and Wikidata identifiers for looking them up elsewhere.
Get an artwork	Fetch one artwork's full catalogue record by its ID: title, artist, when and where it was made, medium and dimensions, credit line and accession number, the curator's description, its subjects and style, whether it is on view and in which gallery, its provenance and exhibition history, and ready-to-use links to its image.
Get an exhibition	Fetch one exhibition by ID: its description, its opening and closing dates, whether it is on now, the gallery it occupies, and the IDs and titles of the works in it.
Get artwork images	List every picture the museum publishes for an artwork, the main photograph and any additional views, each as a direct URL a download step can use, at the size you pick, with its alt text, its pixel dimensions and the line to credit.
Get artworks by ID	Fetch several artworks at once by their IDs, in one step instead of one per artwork.
Get opening hours	The museum's opening hours for every day of the week, as clock times, together with whether it is open today; the museum is closed on Tuesdays and stays open late on Thursdays.
List audio tours	List the museum's audio tours, each with its introduction and the works it stops at, including the verbal-description tours written for visitors who are blind or have low vision.
List events	List what is on at the museum: talks, tours, workshops, screenings and member previews, soonest first, each with its time, its room, whether it is free and where to book.
List galleries	List the museum's rooms in floor-plan order, with their gallery number, their floor and whether they are currently closed.
Look up subject and style terms	Find the museum's own wording for a subject, style, material or technique.
Search articles	Search the stories the museum publishes about its collection (curators writing about single works, exhibitions and conservation) and get each one's full text as plain prose.
Search artists	Find the museum's record for an artist or maker by name, with their dates, the names they are also known by, and the museum's biography.
Search artworks	Search the museum's collection of more than 130,000 objects.
Search exhibitions	Find exhibitions: what is on now by default, or what is opening later, or any of the six thousand shows the museum has staged since 1879.

Find artworks by artist

List everything one artist made, by name: no ID lookup first. The name is resolved to the museum's own artist record and the collection is then filtered on that person, so 'Monet' returns his paintings rather than every work whose catalogue text mentions him. Whoever the name resolved to is reported back as 'artist_name', with any other artists of that name under 'other_matches'.

Inputs

Artist nameartisttextRequired: The artist to look up. A surname on its own works; adding the first name narrows it when the museum holds more than one artist of that name.
Only works on viewon_view_onlytrue/false: Only return works hanging in the galleries right now. Most of the collection is in storage at any time, so this is the filter for planning a visit. Off by default.Default: false.
Only works with a picturewith_image_onlytrue/false: Only return works the museum has photographed and published. Off by default.Default: false.
Number of resultsmax_resultsnumber: How many results to return, from 1 to 100. Defaults to 10. Each artwork comes back as its full catalogue record, so ask for what you will use.From 1 to 100.
Skipoffsetnumber: How many results to skip before returning any, for paging through a long list. Feed the 'next_offset' value from a previous run back in here to get the following page. Defaults to 0.At least 0.

Outputs

artistobject
artist_idnumber
artist_nametext
artwork_idslist
artworkslist
has_moretrue/false
next_offsetnumber
offsetnumber
other_matcheslist
result_countnumber
searched_fortext
total_countnumber

Example output

{
  "artist": {
    "alternate_names": [
      "Georges Pierre Seurat",
      "Georges-Pierre Seurat"
    ],
    "artist_id": 40810,
    "artist_type": "Individual",
    "birth_year": 1859,
    "death_year": 1891,
    "description": "Inspired by recently published research in optical and colour theory, Georges Seurat developed his own \"scientific\" style called Pointillism.",
    "is_artist": true,
    "name": "Georges Seurat",
    "sort_name": "Seurat, Georges",
    "ulan_id": null,
    "updated_at": "2026-08-05T23:32:18-05:00",
    "web_url": "https://www.artic.edu/artists/40810",
    "wikidata_id": null
  },
  "artist_id": 40810,
  "artist_name": "Georges Seurat",
  "artwork_ids": [
    27992
  ],
  "artworks": [
    {
      "accession_number": "1926.224",
      "alternate_titles": [],
      "artist_display": "Georges Seurat (French, 1859\u20131891)",
      "artist_id": 40810,
      "artist_name": "Georges Seurat",
      "artist_names": [
        "Georges Seurat"
      ],
      "artwork_id": 27992,
      "artwork_type": "Painting",
      "artwork_type_id": 1,
      "classification": "oil on canvas",
      "classifications": [
        "oil on canvas",
        "painting",
        "european painting"
      ],
      "copyright_notice": null,
      "credit_line": "Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection",
      "date_display": "1884\u201386, border added 1888\u201389",
      "department": "Painting and Sculpture of Europe",
      "description": "Seurat used an innovative technique called Pointillism, applying tiny dabs of different coloured paint that viewers see as a single, more brilliant hue.",
      "dimensions": "207.5 \u00d7 308.1 cm (81 3/4 \u00d7 121 1/4 in.)",
      "exhibition_history": "Paris, Maison Dor\u00e9e, VIII\u00e8me Exposition de peinture, May 15\u2013June 15, 1886, cat. 175.",
      "gallery": "Gallery 240",
      "gallery_id": 2147478672,
      "image_alt_text": "Large painting of people in a crowded park, brushstrokes are dots.",
      "image_count": 2,
      "image_height": 6237,
      "image_id": "2d484387-2509-5e8e-2c43-22f9981972eb",
      "image_url": "https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/2d484387-2509-5e8e-2c43-22f9981972eb/full/1686,/0/default.jpg",
      "image_width": 9310,
      "inscriptions": "Inscribed lower right: Seurat",
      "is_on_view": true,
      "is_public_domain": true,
      "materials": [
        "oil paint (paint)",
        "canvas"
      ],
      "medium": "Oil on canvas",
      "place_of_origin": "France",
      "provenance": "By descent to Mme. Seurat, the artist's mother (died 1899), Paris, 1891; by descent to Emile Seurat, the artist's brother.",
      "publication_history": "Jules Christophe, Georges Seurat (Paris, 1890).",
      "style": "Pointillism",
      "styles": [
        "Pointillism",
        "Post-Impressionism",
        "Impressionism"
      ],
      "subjects": [
        "leisure",
        "landscape",
        "urban life",
        "water"
      ],
      "summary": "For his largest and best-known painting, Georges Seurat depicted Parisians enjoying all sorts of leisurely activities in the park called La Grande Jatte on the River Seine.",
      "techniques": [
        "oil painting",
        "painting techniques"
      ],
      "terms": [
        "oil on canvas",
        "Pointillism",
        "leisure",
        "landscape"
      ],
      "themes": [
        "Art Institute Icons",
        "Essentials"
      ],
      "thumbnail_url": "https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/2d484387-2509-5e8e-2c43-22f9981972eb/full/400,/0/default.jpg",
      "title": "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte \u2014 1884",
      "updated_at": "2026-09-01T03:00:21-05:00",
      "web_url": "https://www.artic.edu/artworks/27992",
      "year_end": 1886,
      "year_start": 1884
    }
  ],
  "has_more": true,
  "next_offset": 1,
  "offset": 0,
  "other_matches": [],
  "result_count": 1,
  "searched_for": "Seurat",
  "total_count": 46
}

Get an artist

Fetch one artist's record by ID: their dates, the names they are also known by, the museum's biography, and their Getty ULAN and Wikidata identifiers for looking them up elsewhere.

Inputs

Artist IDartist_idnumberRequired: The museum's ID for the artist. Comes from 'Search artists', or from any artwork's 'artist_id'.At least 1.

Outputs

artistobject

Example output

{
  "artist": {
    "alternate_names": [
      "Georges Pierre Seurat",
      "Georges-Pierre Seurat"
    ],
    "artist_id": 40810,
    "artist_type": "Individual",
    "birth_year": 1859,
    "death_year": 1891,
    "description": "Inspired by recently published research in optical and colour theory, Georges Seurat developed his own \"scientific\" style called Pointillism.",
    "is_artist": true,
    "name": "Georges Seurat",
    "sort_name": "Seurat, Georges",
    "ulan_id": null,
    "updated_at": "2026-08-05T23:32:18-05:00",
    "web_url": "https://www.artic.edu/artists/40810",
    "wikidata_id": null
  }
}

Get an artwork

Fetch one artwork's full catalogue record by its ID: title, artist, when and where it was made, medium and dimensions, credit line and accession number, the curator's description, its subjects and style, whether it is on view and in which gallery, its provenance and exhibition history, and ready-to-use links to its image.

Inputs

Artwork IDartwork_idnumberRequired: The museum's ID for the artwork: the number in its artic.edu address, for example 27992. Every action that returns artworks reports this as 'artwork_id'.At least 1.

Outputs

artworkobject

Example output

{
  "artwork": {
    "accession_number": "1926.224",
    "alternate_titles": [],
    "artist_display": "Georges Seurat (French, 1859\u20131891)",
    "artist_id": 40810,
    "artist_name": "Georges Seurat",
    "artist_names": [
      "Georges Seurat"
    ],
    "artwork_id": 27992,
    "artwork_type": "Painting",
    "artwork_type_id": 1,
    "classification": "oil on canvas",
    "classifications": [
      "oil on canvas",
      "painting",
      "european painting"
    ],
    "copyright_notice": null,
    "credit_line": "Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection",
    "date_display": "1884\u201386, border added 1888\u201389",
    "department": "Painting and Sculpture of Europe",
    "description": "Seurat used an innovative technique called Pointillism, applying tiny dabs of different coloured paint that viewers see as a single, more brilliant hue.",
    "dimensions": "207.5 \u00d7 308.1 cm (81 3/4 \u00d7 121 1/4 in.)",
    "exhibition_history": "Paris, Maison Dor\u00e9e, VIII\u00e8me Exposition de peinture, May 15\u2013June 15, 1886, cat. 175.",
    "gallery": "Gallery 240",
    "gallery_id": 2147478672,
    "image_alt_text": "Large painting of people in a crowded park, brushstrokes are dots.",
    "image_count": 2,
    "image_height": 6237,
    "image_id": "2d484387-2509-5e8e-2c43-22f9981972eb",
    "image_url": "https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/2d484387-2509-5e8e-2c43-22f9981972eb/full/1686,/0/default.jpg",
    "image_width": 9310,
    "inscriptions": "Inscribed lower right: Seurat",
    "is_on_view": true,
    "is_public_domain": true,
    "materials": [
      "oil paint (paint)",
      "canvas"
    ],
    "medium": "Oil on canvas",
    "place_of_origin": "France",
    "provenance": "By descent to Mme. Seurat, the artist's mother (died 1899), Paris, 1891; by descent to Emile Seurat, the artist's brother.",
    "publication_history": "Jules Christophe, Georges Seurat (Paris, 1890).",
    "style": "Pointillism",
    "styles": [
      "Pointillism",
      "Post-Impressionism",
      "Impressionism"
    ],
    "subjects": [
      "leisure",
      "landscape",
      "urban life",
      "water"
    ],
    "summary": "For his largest and best-known painting, Georges Seurat depicted Parisians enjoying all sorts of leisurely activities in the park called La Grande Jatte on the River Seine.",
    "techniques": [
      "oil painting",
      "painting techniques"
    ],
    "terms": [
      "oil on canvas",
      "Pointillism",
      "leisure",
      "landscape"
    ],
    "themes": [
      "Art Institute Icons",
      "Essentials"
    ],
    "thumbnail_url": "https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/2d484387-2509-5e8e-2c43-22f9981972eb/full/400,/0/default.jpg",
    "title": "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte \u2014 1884",
    "updated_at": "2026-09-01T03:00:21-05:00",
    "web_url": "https://www.artic.edu/artworks/27992",
    "year_end": 1886,
    "year_start": 1884
  }
}

Get an exhibition

Fetch one exhibition by ID: its description, its opening and closing dates, whether it is on now, the gallery it occupies, and the IDs and titles of the works in it.

Inputs

Exhibition IDexhibition_idnumberRequired: The museum's ID for the exhibition. Comes from 'Search exhibitions'.At least 1.

Outputs

exhibitionobject

Example output

{
  "exhibition": {
    "artist_ids": [
      35783,
      36331
    ],
    "artwork_ids": [
      54424,
      92196,
      54418
    ],
    "artwork_titles": [
      "Chairs",
      "Nude Bent Forward, Paris",
      "Untitled"
    ],
    "end_date": "2026-12-07",
    "exhibition_id": 10521,
    "gallery": null,
    "gallery_id": null,
    "image_url": "https://artic-web.imgix.net/lee-miller-self-portrait.jpg",
    "is_featured": true,
    "start_date": "2026-08-29",
    "status": "Confirmed",
    "summary": "The first comprehensive survey of Miller's photographs in more than 25 years.",
    "timing": "on_now",
    "title": "Lee Miller: Fearless",
    "updated_at": "2026-08-31T23:33:07-05:00",
    "web_url": "https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/10521/lee-miller-fearless"
  }
}

Get artwork images

List every picture the museum publishes for an artwork, the main photograph and any additional views, each as a direct URL a download step can use, at the size you pick, with its alt text, its pixel dimensions and the line to credit. Works the museum has released into the public domain can be reused freely; for anything else 'copyright_notice' says whose permission is needed. An artwork the museum has never photographed comes back with an empty list rather than an error.

Inputs

Artwork IDartwork_idnumberRequired: The museum's ID for the artwork: the number in its artic.edu address, for example 27992. Every action that returns artworks reports this as 'artwork_id'.At least 1.
Sizeimage_sizetext: How wide the pictures should be. Defaults to large, which suits a document or an email. Full resolution can be tens of megapixels.One of: large (Large, 1686px wide (default)), medium (Medium, 843px wide), small (Small, 400px wide), full (Full resolution (can be very large)). Default: large.

Outputs

artist_nametext
artwork_idnumber
copyright_noticetext
credit_linetext
image_countnumber
image_sizetext
image_urltext
image_urlslist
imageslist
is_public_domaintrue/false
titletext
web_urltext

Example output

{
  "artist_name": "Georges Seurat",
  "artwork_id": 27992,
  "copyright_notice": null,
  "credit_line": "Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection",
  "image_count": 1,
  "image_size": "large",
  "image_url": "https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/2d484387-2509-5e8e-2c43-22f9981972eb/full/1686,/0/default.jpg",
  "image_urls": [
    "https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/2d484387-2509-5e8e-2c43-22f9981972eb/full/1686,/0/default.jpg"
  ],
  "images": [
    {
      "alt_text": "Large painting of people in a crowded park, brushstrokes are dots.",
      "credit_line": "CC0 Public Domain Designation",
      "height": 6237,
      "image_id": "2d484387-2509-5e8e-2c43-22f9981972eb",
      "label": "Image 1",
      "url": "https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/2d484387-2509-5e8e-2c43-22f9981972eb/full/1686,/0/default.jpg",
      "width": 9310
    }
  ],
  "is_public_domain": true,
  "title": "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte \u2014 1884",
  "web_url": "https://www.artic.edu/artworks/27992"
}

Get artworks by ID

Fetch several artworks at once by their IDs, in one step instead of one per artwork. IDs the museum does not have are reported back under 'missing_artwork_ids' rather than failing the step, and the artworks come back in the order they were asked for.

Inputs

Artwork IDsartwork_idslistRequired: The artwork IDs to fetch, up to 100. Accepts a list of numbers or a comma-separated list, so the 'artwork_ids' from an earlier search, or an exhibition's 'artwork_ids', can be passed straight in.

Outputs

artworkslist
missing_artwork_idslist
requested_countnumber
result_countnumber

Example output

{
  "artworks": [
    {
      "accession_number": "1926.224",
      "alternate_titles": [],
      "artist_display": "Georges Seurat (French, 1859\u20131891)",
      "artist_id": 40810,
      "artist_name": "Georges Seurat",
      "artist_names": [
        "Georges Seurat"
      ],
      "artwork_id": 27992,
      "artwork_type": "Painting",
      "artwork_type_id": 1,
      "classification": "oil on canvas",
      "classifications": [
        "oil on canvas",
        "painting",
        "european painting"
      ],
      "copyright_notice": null,
      "credit_line": "Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection",
      "date_display": "1884\u201386, border added 1888\u201389",
      "department": "Painting and Sculpture of Europe",
      "description": "Seurat used an innovative technique called Pointillism, applying tiny dabs of different coloured paint that viewers see as a single, more brilliant hue.",
      "dimensions": "207.5 \u00d7 308.1 cm (81 3/4 \u00d7 121 1/4 in.)",
      "exhibition_history": "Paris, Maison Dor\u00e9e, VIII\u00e8me Exposition de peinture, May 15\u2013June 15, 1886, cat. 175.",
      "gallery": "Gallery 240",
      "gallery_id": 2147478672,
      "image_alt_text": "Large painting of people in a crowded park, brushstrokes are dots.",
      "image_count": 2,
      "image_height": 6237,
      "image_id": "2d484387-2509-5e8e-2c43-22f9981972eb",
      "image_url": "https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/2d484387-2509-5e8e-2c43-22f9981972eb/full/1686,/0/default.jpg",
      "image_width": 9310,
      "inscriptions": "Inscribed lower right: Seurat",
      "is_on_view": true,
      "is_public_domain": true,
      "materials": [
        "oil paint (paint)",
        "canvas"
      ],
      "medium": "Oil on canvas",
      "place_of_origin": "France",
      "provenance": "By descent to Mme. Seurat, the artist's mother (died 1899), Paris, 1891; by descent to Emile Seurat, the artist's brother.",
      "publication_history": "Jules Christophe, Georges Seurat (Paris, 1890).",
      "style": "Pointillism",
      "styles": [
        "Pointillism",
        "Post-Impressionism",
        "Impressionism"
      ],
      "subjects": [
        "leisure",
        "landscape",
        "urban life",
        "water"
      ],
      "summary": "For his largest and best-known painting, Georges Seurat depicted Parisians enjoying all sorts of leisurely activities in the park called La Grande Jatte on the River Seine.",
      "techniques": [
        "oil painting",
        "painting techniques"
      ],
      "terms": [
        "oil on canvas",
        "Pointillism",
        "leisure",
        "landscape"
      ],
      "themes": [
        "Art Institute Icons",
        "Essentials"
      ],
      "thumbnail_url": "https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/2d484387-2509-5e8e-2c43-22f9981972eb/full/400,/0/default.jpg",
      "title": "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte \u2014 1884",
      "updated_at": "2026-09-01T03:00:21-05:00",
      "web_url": "https://www.artic.edu/artworks/27992",
      "year_end": 1886,
      "year_start": 1884
    }
  ],
  "missing_artwork_ids": [
    999999999
  ],
  "requested_count": 2,
  "result_count": 1
}

Get opening hours

The museum's opening hours for every day of the week, as clock times, together with whether it is open today; the museum is closed on Tuesdays and stays open late on Thursdays. Member hours are reported separately from public hours.

Inputs

None.

Outputs

datetext
is_open_todaytrue/false
notestext
summarytext
timezonetext
todayobject
weeklist

Example output

{
  "date": "2026-09-02",
  "is_open_today": true,
  "notes": "The first hour of every day, 10\u201311 a.m., is reserved for member-only viewing.",
  "summary": "Mon\n\n10\u201311 members | 11\u20135 public\n\nTues\n\nClosed",
  "timezone": "America/Chicago",
  "today": {
    "closes": "17:00",
    "day": "wednesday",
    "is_closed": false,
    "member_closes": "11:00",
    "member_opens": "10:00",
    "opens": "11:00"
  },
  "week": [
    {
      "closes": "17:00",
      "day": "wednesday",
      "is_closed": false,
      "member_closes": "11:00",
      "member_opens": "10:00",
      "opens": "11:00"
    },
    {
      "closes": null,
      "day": "tuesday",
      "is_closed": true,
      "member_closes": null,
      "member_opens": null,
      "opens": null
    }
  ]
}

List audio tours

List the museum's audio tours, each with its introduction and the works it stops at, including the verbal-description tours written for visitors who are blind or have low vision.

Inputs

Number of resultsmax_resultsnumber: How many results to return, from 1 to 100. Defaults to 10. Each artwork comes back as its full catalogue record, so ask for what you will use.From 1 to 100.
Skipoffsetnumber: How many results to skip before returning any, for paging through a long list. Feed the 'next_offset' value from a previous run back in here to get the following page. Defaults to 0.At least 0.

Outputs

has_moretrue/false
next_offsetnumber
offsetnumber
result_countnumber
total_countnumber
tour_idslist
tourslist

Example output

{
  "has_more": true,
  "next_offset": 1,
  "offset": 0,
  "result_count": 1,
  "total_count": 20,
  "tour_ids": [
    5872
  ],
  "tours": [
    {
      "artist_names": [
        "Giles Grendey",
        "William Burges",
        "Worcester Porcelain Factory"
      ],
      "artwork_titles": [
        "Bureau Secretary",
        "Sideboard and Wine Cabinet",
        "Teapot"
      ],
      "description": "This tour is designed for people who are blind or have low vision, but it can be enjoyed by all.",
      "image_url": "http://aic-mobile-tours.artic.edu/sites/default/files/tour-images/king-vulture.jpg",
      "introduction": "Immerse yourself in the rich visual details of artworks in the European Design Galleries.",
      "stop_count": 3,
      "title": "Verbal Description Tour of Design in Europe, 1600\u20131900",
      "tour_id": 5872,
      "updated_at": "2026-08-25T23:05:38-05:00"
    }
  ]
}

List events

List what is on at the museum: talks, tours, workshops, screenings and member previews, soonest first, each with its time, its room, whether it is free and where to book. With no dates filled in this is everything from today onwards.

Inputs

Search wordsquerytext: Words to look for in the event's title, description and location. Leave empty for everything in the chosen dates.
Fromfrom_datedate: Only return events starting on or after this date. Defaults to today.
Untilto_datedate: Only return events starting on or before this date. Leave empty for everything the museum has scheduled.
Only free eventsfree_onlytrue/false: Only return events with no charge beyond admission. Off by default.Default: false.
Number of resultsmax_resultsnumber: How many results to return, from 1 to 100. Defaults to 10. Each artwork comes back as its full catalogue record, so ask for what you will use.From 1 to 100.
Skipoffsetnumber: How many results to skip before returning any, for paging through a long list. Feed the 'next_offset' value from a previous run back in here to get the following page. Defaults to 0.At least 0.

Outputs

event_idslist
eventslist
from_datetext
has_moretrue/false
next_offsetnumber
offsetnumber
querytext
result_countnumber
to_datetext
total_countnumber

Example output

{
  "event_ids": [
    6505
  ],
  "events": [
    {
      "booking_url": null,
      "description": "Take inspiration from Willem de Kooning's innovative drawing techniques to create experimental works in one of three sessions.",
      "end_date": "2026-09-03",
      "end_time": "14:00",
      "entrance": null,
      "event_id": 6505,
      "image_url": "https://artic-web.imgix.net/de-kooning-header.jpg",
      "is_free": true,
      "is_member_exclusive": false,
      "is_sold_out": false,
      "is_ticketed": false,
      "is_virtual": false,
      "location": "Pritzker Garden",
      "needs_registration": false,
      "programs": [],
      "start_date": "2026-09-03",
      "start_time": "12:00",
      "summary": "Take inspiration from Willem de Kooning's innovative drawing techniques to create experimental works in the garden.",
      "title": "Drop-In Sketching: In the Spirit of de Kooning (Sept 3)",
      "virtual_event_url": null,
      "web_url": "https://www.artic.edu/events/drop-in-sketching-in-the-spirit-of-de-kooning-sept-3",
      "when_display": "Thurs, Sept 3 | 12:00\u20132:00"
    }
  ],
  "from_date": "2026-09-02",
  "has_more": true,
  "next_offset": 1,
  "offset": 0,
  "query": null,
  "result_count": 1,
  "to_date": null,
  "total_count": 39
}

List galleries

List the museum's rooms in floor-plan order, with their gallery number, their floor and whether they are currently closed. Search artworks offers the open rooms as a dropdown, so this is mainly for a workflow that walks the building room by room.

Inputs

Number of resultsmax_resultsnumber: How many results to return, from 1 to 100. Defaults to 10. Each artwork comes back as its full catalogue record, so ask for what you will use.From 1 to 100.
Skipoffsetnumber: How many results to skip before returning any, for paging through a long list. Feed the 'next_offset' value from a previous run back in here to get the following page. Defaults to 0.At least 0.

Outputs

gallerieslist
gallery_idslist
has_moretrue/false
next_offsetnumber
offsetnumber
result_countnumber
total_countnumber

Example output

{
  "galleries": [
    {
      "floor": "LL",
      "gallery_id": 2147476637,
      "is_closed": false,
      "latitude": 41.879586240855,
      "longitude": -87.623395174745,
      "name": "Gallery 1",
      "number": "1"
    },
    {
      "floor": "2",
      "gallery_id": 2147478672,
      "is_closed": false,
      "latitude": 41.879589485848,
      "longitude": -87.623031400144,
      "name": "Gallery 240",
      "number": "240"
    }
  ],
  "gallery_ids": [
    2147476637,
    2147478672
  ],
  "has_more": true,
  "next_offset": 2,
  "offset": 0,
  "result_count": 2,
  "total_count": 179
}

Look up subject and style terms

Find the museum's own wording for a subject, style, material or technique. These are the words 'Search artworks' matches its 'Subject, style or material' filter against, so this is how to turn a rough idea into a term that actually narrows the collection.

Inputs

Search wordsquerytext: The word to look up. Leave empty to list every term of the chosen kind.
Type of termterm_typetext: Only return terms of this type. Leave empty to look across all of them.One of: subject (Subject: what the work depicts), style (Style or period), material, technique, classification, theme (Museum theme), department (Curatorial department).
Number of resultsmax_resultsnumber: How many results to return, from 1 to 100. Defaults to 10. Each artwork comes back as its full catalogue record, so ask for what you will use.From 1 to 100.
Skipoffsetnumber: How many results to skip before returning any, for paging through a long list. Feed the 'next_offset' value from a previous run back in here to get the following page. Defaults to 0.At least 0.

Outputs

has_moretrue/false
next_offsetnumber
offsetnumber
querytext
result_countnumber
term_typetext
termslist
total_countnumber

Example output

{
  "has_more": true,
  "next_offset": 2,
  "offset": 0,
  "query": "impressionism",
  "result_count": 2,
  "term_type": "style",
  "terms": [
    {
      "aat_id": null,
      "parent_term_id": null,
      "term_id": "TM-7543",
      "term_type": "style",
      "title": "Impressionism"
    },
    {
      "aat_id": null,
      "parent_term_id": null,
      "term_id": "TM-16386",
      "term_type": "style",
      "title": "American Impressionism"
    }
  ],
  "total_count": 4
}

Search articles

Search the stories the museum publishes about its collection (curators writing about single works, exhibitions and conservation) and get each one's full text as plain prose.

Inputs

Search wordsquerytext: Words to look for in the article's title and text. Leave empty to list the museum's articles.
Number of resultsmax_resultsnumber: How many results to return, from 1 to 100. Defaults to 10. Each artwork comes back as its full catalogue record, so ask for what you will use.From 1 to 100.
Skipoffsetnumber: How many results to skip before returning any, for paging through a long list. Feed the 'next_offset' value from a previous run back in here to get the following page. Defaults to 0.At least 0.

Outputs

articleslist
has_moretrue/false
next_offsetnumber
offsetnumber
querytext
result_countnumber
total_countnumber

Example output

{
  "articles": [
    {
      "article_id": 818,
      "body": "Among her many paintings, pastels and prints focusing on women and children, The Child's Bath stands out as a tender portrait.",
      "title": "Cassatt's Modern Vision of the Everyday",
      "updated_at": "2026-08-26T23:16:13-05:00"
    }
  ],
  "has_more": true,
  "next_offset": 1,
  "offset": 0,
  "query": "Cassatt",
  "result_count": 1,
  "total_count": 13
}

Search artists

Find the museum's record for an artist or maker by name, with their dates, the names they are also known by, and the museum's biography. The more of the name you type the narrower the result, and each record's 'artist_id' is what 'Get an artist' takes.

Inputs

NamenametextRequired: The name to look for. Every word has to appear in the name, so 'Claude Monet' finds the painter while 'Monet' also finds anyone else of that name.
Only makers of artpeople_onlytrue/false: Leave out the collectors, lenders and institutions the museum also keeps records for, so only artists and workshops come back. Off by default.Default: false.
Number of resultsmax_resultsnumber: How many results to return, from 1 to 100. Defaults to 10. Each artwork comes back as its full catalogue record, so ask for what you will use.From 1 to 100.
Skipoffsetnumber: How many results to skip before returning any, for paging through a long list. Feed the 'next_offset' value from a previous run back in here to get the following page. Defaults to 0.At least 0.

Outputs

artist_idslist
artistslist
has_moretrue/false
nametext
next_offsetnumber
offsetnumber
result_countnumber
total_countnumber

Example output

{
  "artist_ids": [
    40810
  ],
  "artists": [
    {
      "alternate_names": [
        "Georges Pierre Seurat",
        "Georges-Pierre Seurat"
      ],
      "artist_id": 40810,
      "artist_type": "Individual",
      "birth_year": 1859,
      "death_year": 1891,
      "description": "Inspired by recently published research in optical and colour theory, Georges Seurat developed his own \"scientific\" style called Pointillism.",
      "is_artist": true,
      "name": "Georges Seurat",
      "sort_name": "Seurat, Georges",
      "ulan_id": null,
      "updated_at": "2026-08-05T23:32:18-05:00",
      "web_url": "https://www.artic.edu/artists/40810",
      "wikidata_id": null
    }
  ],
  "has_more": false,
  "name": "Seurat",
  "next_offset": null,
  "offset": 0,
  "result_count": 1,
  "total_count": 1
}

Search artworks

Search the museum's collection of more than 130,000 objects. Every filter is optional and they combine: narrow by kind of object, where it was made, its subject or style, when it was made and which room it hangs in, and keep only the works on view, the ones in the public domain, or the ones the museum has photographed. Returns full catalogue records with ready-to-use image links, the number of matches, and the offset for the next page. Leave the search words empty to browse by filters alone.

Inputs

Search wordsquerytext: What to look for, matched against the title, the artist, the subject keywords, the medium, the place and the catalogue text. Leave empty to browse with the filters alone.
Kind of objectartwork_typeslist: Only return objects of these kinds: Painting, Photograph, Textile and the rest of the museum's own list. Choosing several returns objects matching any of them. Leave empty for every kind.
Made inplace_of_origintext: Only return objects made in this place, matched against the museum's own place field: a country, a region or a city.
Subject, style or materialsubject_or_styletext: Only return objects catalogued under this term, a subject, a style, a material or a technique. Use 'Look up subject and style terms' to find the museum's exact wording ('Pointillism', not 'dots').
Made from (year)year_fromnumber: Only return objects made in or after this year. Use a negative number for B.C., for example -500 for 500 B.C. These are plain years rather than dates because the collection reaches back three millennia and a catalogue date is a year, not a day.
Made until (year)year_tonumber: Only return objects made in or before this year. Use a negative number for B.C. Either end of the range works on its own.
Gallerygallerytext: Only return works hanging in this room. The list is fetched from the museum, so it is always the rooms that are currently open. Leave empty for the whole building.
Only works on viewon_view_onlytrue/false: Only return works hanging in the galleries right now. Most of the collection is in storage at any time, so this is the filter for planning a visit. Off by default.Default: false.
Only public-domain workspublic_domain_onlytrue/false: Only return works the museum has released into the public domain, which are the ones whose images can be reused freely. Off by default.Default: false.
Only works with a picturewith_image_onlytrue/false: Only return works the museum has photographed and published. Off by default.Default: false.
Order bysort_bytext: What order to return the results in. Defaults to best match, which is only meaningful when search words are filled in. When browsing by filters alone, pick one of the others.One of: best_match (Best match (default)), oldest (Oldest work first), newest (Newest work first), title (Title A–Z), recently_updated (Recently updated records first). Default: best_match.
Number of resultsmax_resultsnumber: How many results to return, from 1 to 100. Defaults to 10. Each artwork comes back as its full catalogue record, so ask for what you will use.From 1 to 100.
Skipoffsetnumber: How many results to skip before returning any, for paging through a long list. Feed the 'next_offset' value from a previous run back in here to get the following page. Defaults to 0.At least 0.

Outputs

artwork_idslist
artworkslist
has_moretrue/false
next_offsetnumber
offsetnumber
querytext
result_countnumber
sort_bytext
total_countnumber

Example output

{
  "artwork_ids": [
    27992
  ],
  "artworks": [
    {
      "accession_number": "1926.224",
      "alternate_titles": [],
      "artist_display": "Georges Seurat (French, 1859\u20131891)",
      "artist_id": 40810,
      "artist_name": "Georges Seurat",
      "artist_names": [
        "Georges Seurat"
      ],
      "artwork_id": 27992,
      "artwork_type": "Painting",
      "artwork_type_id": 1,
      "classification": "oil on canvas",
      "classifications": [
        "oil on canvas",
        "painting",
        "european painting"
      ],
      "copyright_notice": null,
      "credit_line": "Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection",
      "date_display": "1884\u201386, border added 1888\u201389",
      "department": "Painting and Sculpture of Europe",
      "description": "Seurat used an innovative technique called Pointillism, applying tiny dabs of different coloured paint that viewers see as a single, more brilliant hue.",
      "dimensions": "207.5 \u00d7 308.1 cm (81 3/4 \u00d7 121 1/4 in.)",
      "exhibition_history": "Paris, Maison Dor\u00e9e, VIII\u00e8me Exposition de peinture, May 15\u2013June 15, 1886, cat. 175.",
      "gallery": "Gallery 240",
      "gallery_id": 2147478672,
      "image_alt_text": "Large painting of people in a crowded park, brushstrokes are dots.",
      "image_count": 2,
      "image_height": 6237,
      "image_id": "2d484387-2509-5e8e-2c43-22f9981972eb",
      "image_url": "https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/2d484387-2509-5e8e-2c43-22f9981972eb/full/1686,/0/default.jpg",
      "image_width": 9310,
      "inscriptions": "Inscribed lower right: Seurat",
      "is_on_view": true,
      "is_public_domain": true,
      "materials": [
        "oil paint (paint)",
        "canvas"
      ],
      "medium": "Oil on canvas",
      "place_of_origin": "France",
      "provenance": "By descent to Mme. Seurat, the artist's mother (died 1899), Paris, 1891; by descent to Emile Seurat, the artist's brother.",
      "publication_history": "Jules Christophe, Georges Seurat (Paris, 1890).",
      "style": "Pointillism",
      "styles": [
        "Pointillism",
        "Post-Impressionism",
        "Impressionism"
      ],
      "subjects": [
        "leisure",
        "landscape",
        "urban life",
        "water"
      ],
      "summary": "For his largest and best-known painting, Georges Seurat depicted Parisians enjoying all sorts of leisurely activities in the park called La Grande Jatte on the River Seine.",
      "techniques": [
        "oil painting",
        "painting techniques"
      ],
      "terms": [
        "oil on canvas",
        "Pointillism",
        "leisure",
        "landscape"
      ],
      "themes": [
        "Art Institute Icons",
        "Essentials"
      ],
      "thumbnail_url": "https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/2d484387-2509-5e8e-2c43-22f9981972eb/full/400,/0/default.jpg",
      "title": "A Sunday on La Grande Jatte \u2014 1884",
      "updated_at": "2026-09-01T03:00:21-05:00",
      "web_url": "https://www.artic.edu/artworks/27992",
      "year_end": 1886,
      "year_start": 1884
    }
  ],
  "has_more": true,
  "next_offset": 1,
  "offset": 0,
  "query": "water lilies",
  "result_count": 1,
  "sort_by": "best_match",
  "total_count": 46
}

Search exhibitions

Find exhibitions: what is on now by default, or what is opening later, or any of the six thousand shows the museum has staged since 1879. Each one comes back with its dates, its gallery, and the IDs of the works in it, which 'Get artworks by ID' takes directly.

Inputs

Search wordsquerytext: Words to look for in the exhibition's title, its description and the works it holds. Leave empty to list everything in the chosen period.
Whenwhentext: Which exhibitions to return, worked out against today's date in Chicago. Defaults to the ones on now.One of: on_now (On now (default)), upcoming (Opening later), past (Already closed), any (Any time). Default: on_now.
Opened on or afteropen_afterdate: Only return exhibitions that opened on or after this date. Use this with 'When' set to 'Any time' to look at a particular season or year.
Closed on or beforecloses_beforedate: Only return exhibitions that closed on or before this date.
Only featured exhibitionsfeatured_onlytrue/false: Only return the exhibitions the museum is promoting, rather than every show including the small gallery rotations. Off by default.Default: false.
Number of resultsmax_resultsnumber: How many results to return, from 1 to 100. Defaults to 10. Each artwork comes back as its full catalogue record, so ask for what you will use.From 1 to 100.
Skipoffsetnumber: How many results to skip before returning any, for paging through a long list. Feed the 'next_offset' value from a previous run back in here to get the following page. Defaults to 0.At least 0.

Outputs

as_oftext
exhibition_idslist
exhibitionslist
has_moretrue/false
next_offsetnumber
offsetnumber
querytext
result_countnumber
total_countnumber
whentext

Example output

{
  "as_of": "2026-09-02",
  "exhibition_ids": [
    10521
  ],
  "exhibitions": [
    {
      "artist_ids": [
        35783,
        36331
      ],
      "artwork_ids": [
        54424,
        92196,
        54418
      ],
      "artwork_titles": [
        "Chairs",
        "Nude Bent Forward, Paris",
        "Untitled"
      ],
      "end_date": "2026-12-07",
      "exhibition_id": 10521,
      "gallery": null,
      "gallery_id": null,
      "image_url": "https://artic-web.imgix.net/lee-miller-self-portrait.jpg",
      "is_featured": true,
      "start_date": "2026-08-29",
      "status": "Confirmed",
      "summary": "The first comprehensive survey of Miller's photographs in more than 25 years.",
      "timing": "on_now",
      "title": "Lee Miller: Fearless",
      "updated_at": "2026-08-31T23:33:07-05:00",
      "web_url": "https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/10521/lee-miller-fearless"
    }
  ],
  "has_more": true,
  "next_offset": 1,
  "offset": 0,
  "query": null,
  "result_count": 1,
  "total_count": 13,
  "when": "on_now"
}

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