Events

Spend an entire day exploring one of the most comprehensive art collections in the country, with nearly 300,000 works in the permanent collection and thousands of others on display. Enjoy internationally acclaimed Impressionist paintings, African masks, figurative sculpture, beadwork and textiles, or exquisite decorative arts, among many other choices.

After time exploring on your own, stop for a bite to eat at any of the nearby restaurants for lunch before gaining entry to two exclusive special exhibitions, Van Gogh and the Avant-Garde: The Modern Landscape and Salvador Dalí: The Image Disappears. The Van Gogh exhibition highlights post-Impressionist paintings of the 1880s, when artists began to flock to villages on the fringes of Paris and incorporated these newly industrialized landscapes into their beautiful explorations of nature. The Dalí exhibition focuses on the pivotal decade of the 1930s, when Salvador Dalí emerged as the inventor of his own personal brand of Surrealism.

Afterward join Amber Oudsema, Meijer Gardens Curator of Art Education, for an optional guided sculpture walk through Millennium Park, where she will discuss works of some of the world’s best-known sculptors, among them Anish Kapoor, Jaume Plensa and Richard Hunt. At the end of the day, relax over dinner at The Berghoff Restaurant, a Chicago landmark serving Germanstyle cuisine and culture since 1898. Fee includes bus transportation, a morning snack en route, museum admission, special exhibit admission, dinner and all gratuities. Lunch is on your own.

Dress for the weather and expect a fair amount of walking and standing.