Art Institute of Chicago Acquires Over 2,000 French Artworks

The Art Institute of Chicago announced its historic acquisition of around 2,250 works of French art, much of it Neoclassical, from renowned American art collectors Jeffrey and Carol Horvitz. According to the Art Institute, the Horvitz Collection is the largest privately-held collection of French art produced between the 16th and 19th centuries in the United States.

Thanks to Boston-based art collectors Jeffrey and Carol Horvitz, the Art Institute of Chicago acquired nearly 2,000 drawings, 200 paintings, and 50 sculptures spanning from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The collection comprises a “300-year panorama of French art,” the likes of which are rarely seen outside France. Much of the Horvitz Collection dates back to Neoclassicism, which emerged as a more measured and moral alternative to Rococo extravagance. French Neoclassical artists like Jacques-Louis David and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres—both of whom are represented in the Horvitz Collection—evoked the most aspirational elements of ancient Greece and Rome with precision and restraint.

In a statement, Jeffrey Horvitz said, “We have always envisioned this collection remaining as a whole in order to be more than the sum of its parts, and for it to go to a major American museum where the most visitors can experience these artistic treasures, where scholars and curators can avail of the resources and advance this important research, and where our enthusiasm will resonate long after we are gone. We spent years thinking about where the collection should ultimately go—there was no more perfect choice than the Art Institute [of Chicago].”

Acquisition Will Tell a “Fuller Story of French Art”

Amassed over the course of four decades, the Horvitz Collection has been the subject of exhibitions in museums across the United States and Europe. Just last year, the Art Institute of Chicago featured objects from the collection in two thematic exhibitions: French Neoclassical Paintings from The Horvitz Collection and Revolution to Restoration: French Drawings from The Horvitz Collection. Along with over 2,000 French artworks, Jeffrey and Carol Horvitz announced plans to provide phased financial support to ensure the long-term care and accessibility of the collection, as well as accompanying programming.

“We are so grateful to Jeffrey and Carol for this impactful gift,” said James Rondeau, President and Eloise W. Martin Director of the Art Institute of Chicago. “Their continued support and passion for the museum is truly special, not only because it will allow millions of visitors to experience a fuller story of French art, but also because their generous financial support of the ongoing care and research of this collection will allow us to continue advancing our broader mission.”

Among the thousands of objects acquired by the Art Institute of Chicago are works by Rococo icons François Boucher and Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Romantic painter Théodore Géricault, and the aforementioned Neoclassicists David and Ingres. Several women artists appear in the Horvitz Collection, including Élisabeth Vigée Lebrun, Marie Antoinette‘s preferred portraitist, and Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, Anne Vallayer Coster, and Marie-Gabrielle Capet. The acquisition also includes notable French artists whose work is rarely seen by American audiences, including Jacques Bellange, Reynaud Levieux, and Nicolas Prevost.