Amid change and expansion, the Art Institute of Chicago has stayed true to its founding mission of 1879: to collect, preserve, and interpret works of art of the highest quality from across the globe for the inspiration and education of their visitors. Today the collection comprises approximately 300,000 works of arts—ranging from ancient art through to work being created by today’s foremost artists—and visitors number 1.5 million annually from across Chicagoland, the country, and the world. Located in the heart of Chicago, just a block from Lake Michigan and adjacent to Millennium Park and Maggie Daley Park, the Art Institute is composed of eight buildings and covers nearly one million square feet.