Frequently asked questions: Kids
Inside Group Visits:
Q: Why is the Museum called the Smart Museum?
A: The Museum is named after two brothers, David and Alfred Smart, who were interested in art and education. David and Alfred Smart founded Esquire, Inc. in 1931 and were the publishers of Esquire Magazine, a magazine for men. After they died, the Smart Family Foundation gave the University of Chicago $1 million in 1967 to establish a fine arts gallery. The David and Alfred Smart Museum opened in 1974.
Q: What exactly is a Museum?
A: A Museum is a place dedicated to collecting, caring for, studying, and displaying objects. In our case, we are an art Museum, so we collect art objects (more commonly known as artworks) and display them in galleries.
Q: What is a gallery?
A: Sometimes we use the word gallery for places that sell artwork. However, within the Museum, a gallery is a room in which artworks are on display. A Museum usually has more than one gallery. In our case, we have seven galleries. In some of our galleries we show special exhibitions of artwork, while others feature art from the permanent collection.
Q: What is an exhibition?
A: An exhibition is a presentation of objects designed to highlight relationships between particular objects. These relationships can be based on, for example, history, look, function, technique, or subject matter. Sometimes exhibitions are displayed for a limited period of time. At the Smart Museum, some exhibitions are on display for as little as two months, while others are much longer.
Q: What kind of art do you have?
A: Our collection includes artworks from ancient times to the present, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, pottery, Asian scrolls, prints, drawings, and photographs. We have a number of works by Chicago artists.
Q: Do you have any famous artworks?
A: We don't have anything as famous as the Mona Lisa, but we do have some works by famous artists such as Mark Rothko and Frank Lloyd Wright. We also have many terrific artworks by lesser-known artists from the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
Q: How big is the collection?
A: We have almost 10,000 artworks!
Q: Is the whole collection on view?
A: No. Our building is not large enough to show the whole collection. Selections from our collection are displayed, and these selections are often changed to allow people to see different artworks. Usually a couple hundred works are on display.
Q: Who decides what goes on view?
A: Curators do. Curators are members of the Museum staff. Their job is to care for the collections, research the objects, and decide which artworks will go on view and how they should be arranged in the galleries.
Q: Where does the art come from?
A: Our artworks come to us in many ways. Many objects were transferred to the Museum from other departments on campus. For example, the collection of classical antiquities began with a donation in 1902 of over a hundred Greek and Roman objects and was first displayed in the Classics building before coming to the Smart Museum. Sometimes people who have gone to school at the University of Chicago or who collect art donate artworks to the Smart Museum. The Museum also purchases artworks each year from artists and art dealers. Finally, some of the artworks you will see in the Museum are either on loan from individual collectors, or are part of traveling exhibitions organized by other Museums and galleries.
Q: Why are you on a university campus?
A: The University of Chicago has collected art objects since its founding in 1892 to use as teaching tools. Before the Smart Museum opened, these objects were scattered across campus in various departments. Now they are collected in our building, where everyone can access them. Classes from all over campus, including the Department of Art History, as well as schoolchildren, come to the Museum to study our objects. The Museum also attracts visitors from Hyde Park and nearby neighborhoods, tourists, and people from the entire Chicago area.
Q: When I visit I am going to go on a tour of the Museum. What is the tour going to be like?
A: In your tour, a Museum staff member will introduce you to the Smart Museum. He or she will lead a group of about 10-15 people around the Museum, pointing out and discussing certain artworks. This staff member is often called a docent. Docents specialize in helping you look and talk about art.
Q: Who are these docents?
A: In your tour, a Museum staff member will introduce you to the Smart Museum. He or she will lead your group around the Museum, pointing out and discussing certain artworks. This staff member is often called a docent (dO-sent). Docents specialize in helping you look and talk about art.
Q: What's expected of us on the tour?
A: Docents will expect and want to hear your opinions and ideas. The docent will be asking you a lot of questions. We want you to answer freely and ask questions of your own as well. Docents will expect you to respect others' ideas and opinions. Please remember, don't talk while other people are talking, and listen to what the docent and your peers say.
Q: Why can't we touch the art?
A: All of us have oils in our skin that interact with the chemicals in the artworks when we touch them. After repeated touches, the artworks will show signs of wear. We don't let anyone touch the works of art because we want the artworks to remain looking the way they do now, so that future visitors can appreciate them as much as you will. Some works are very fragile. It's possible that by touching a work of art, you may accidentally break something off of it or scratch it. Even Museum staff members have to be careful with artworks. To move artworks, our staff members wear special gloves.
Q: Who are the people in black t-shirts in the galleries?
A: They are Smart Museum gallery attendants. The gallery attendants enforce the Museum rules to ensure that your visit will be safe and that the artworks will be safe. They will tell you when you get too close to an artwork. They may also ask you to stop leaning on a case if you are doing so. Gallery attendants are also here to help you. For example, they can help you find a favorite artwork or point you to the restrooms and water fountain.
Q: If I like it there, can I go back?
A: Absolutely! The Museum is free and everyone is always welcome. The only day you can't visit our galleries is on Mondays, when we are closed to the public.