Ivan Albright's Rotting Dorian Gray Portrait Hangs in Gallery 263
A portrait painted for a 1945 film drew crowds to the museum that year, and its decay reads even stranger in person.
🎨 A Portrait Built to Rot
Ivan Albright painted Picture of Dorian Gray in 1943 and 1944 for the Hollywood adaptation of Oscar Wilde's novel, where it appeared in Technicolor inside an otherwise black-and-white film. When the canvas debuted at the Art Institute in 1945, the Chicago Tribune reported the museum struggling with the crowds. The oil stands about seven feet tall, and the decay is rendered in grisly, intricate detail that matches the macabre reputation Albright had already built.
It now hangs in Gallery 263 with the Arts of the Americas collection. The museum opens at 11:00 AM, stays open until 8:00 PM on Thursdays, closes on Tuesdays, and admits children under 14 free.
