Could Ferris Bueller Change an Art Gallery?
- Chicago Movie Tours
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
From movie set to Instagram backdrop—discover how Ferris Bueller’s Day Off may have inspired changes inside the Art Institute of Chicago.
The artworks highlighted above reside inside the Art Institute of Chicago. You might know them from the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
At left, Auguste Rodin's sculpture Portrait of Balzac stands confidently on its chunky pedestal. At right, Georges Seurat's painting A Sunday on La Grande Jatte brightens a gray wall.
Currently, the pieces are positioned across from each other in Gallery 240.
But that was not always the case.
As the Art Institute of Chicago has renovated and expanded over the years, Rodin's sculpture and Seurat's painting, like many artworks in the collection (including those shown in Ferris Bueller's Day Off), have moved around.
For example, in 2004, the Seurat hung in a tighter space than it does now, and it was surrounded by stanchions and a bench.
Likewise, in 2010, the Rodin did not stand across from the Seurat. Rather, the sculpture welcomed visitors as they walked into the Impressionism wing.
I am unsure when Portrait of Balzac and A Sunday on La Grande Jatte were configured in their current location in Gallery 240. But by 2015, the two were already arranged similarly in Gallery 201.
It seems likely, then, the artworks were brought together in the early 2010s—coinciding with the rise of social media and the growing influence of user-generated content.
I often call attention to this shift on my guided walking tour inside the museum, The Art of Ferris Bueller.
With both the Rodin and the Seurat in our sight, I ask guests,
In an age of social media, why might the Art Institute so closely pair these two pieces—that (the still-popular) Ferris Bueller's Day Off prominently highlights?
Then, as my guests mimic the positions of Ferris and friends, and ask me to photograph them for their own Facebook and Instagram accounts, potential answers to my question become clear. As does the realization that museums, like most long-running institutions, must adapt to survive.
Grab your spot on my next Ferris Bueller walking tour at the Art Institute—so you can dive into the movie and the artwork yourself!
