Art Institute announces $70M in donations, including largest-ever cash gift

The Art Institute of Chicago on Tuesday announced it received a pair of gifts totaling $70 million, including a $50 million donation that is the largest publicly announced contribution in the museum’s history.

Janet and Craig Duchossois made the record-setting, unrestricted donation, while Robert and Diane Levy contributed $20 million for acquisitions and operations.

“It is an honor to work with trustees whose foresight and generosity will shape the museum’s impact on our community for generations to come,” Art Institute president James Rondeau said in a statement. “Gifts such as these allow the museum to look forward with certainty and ambition, serving our city as one of the world’s greatest art museums.”

Specific plans for the windfall are still in the works, but museum officials said it will focus on visitor experience and “enable bold planning for the future.”

Before the Duchossois’ gift, the previous largest public cash contribution to the Art Institute — $35 million — came from the estate of Dorothy Braude Edinburg in January 2016.

“Craig and I chose to make this unrestricted gift to demonstrate our confidence and support of James Rondeau and the board,” Janet Duchossois said in the statement. She is an Art Institute trustee, and Craig Duchossois is the CEO of The Duchossois Group.

Last fall, their family donated $100 million to the University of Chicago to fund a new medical institute.

Robert Levy is the museum board chairman.

“We have a strong and committed board of trustees, dedicated to our role as an active civic partner, accessible to all members of our community,” he said.

Other hefty monetary donations have been made anonymously, and the museum received a cache of art valued at more than $400 million from Stefan Edlis and Gael Neeson in 2015.