How many art works are in the Art Institute of Chicago?

The Art Institute actually owns more than 300,000 works, although only about 20,000 are on display at any one time. The Institute owns the largest and best collection of Impressionist art in the Western Hemisphere thanks to Mrs. Potter Palmer and her dear friend and advisor, Mary Cassat. They also have an extensive archive and great collections of Asian and Chinese art, among others. Check out the website at http://www.artic.edu/aic/ and if you are anywhere near Chicago, you owe it to yourself to visit. A great book is The Essential Guide to the Art Institute.