Smart Museum entrance

The entrance to the David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art on the University of Chicago campus in 1991.(Photography by Robin B. Shahani, Copyright 2024, The Chicago Maroon. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.)

Smart at 50

The Smart Museum of Art, by the numbers.

Year David Smart cofounded Esquire magazine

1933

Dedication date of the David and Alfred Smart Gallery, funded by a posthumous gift from the brothers’ family foundation

10.22.74

Year the Smart Gallery was rechristened the Smart Museum

1990

Works in the Smart’s collection when it opened

2,491

Works in the collection today

17,000+

Paintings in the collection

782

Students served through classes during the 2023–24 academic year

4,035

Students served through Smart programs in 2023–24

1,487

Cost to visit the Smart—in 1974 and today

$0