Gallery Conversation: Provenance Research at the Art Institute of Chicago

Every object in our collection has its own unique story to tell. By tracing an artwork’s past ownership (its “provenance”), we can deepen our understanding of the work itself, the people who valued it, and the societies it inhabited.

Join the Art Institute’s Provenance Research team to learn all about the museum’s groundbreaking research in this vital and fascinating field.

What to Expect

This program will begin in Gallery 261. Participants will visit multiple galleries that may be on different levels. Elevators are available if needed. ASL interpretation and/or assisted listening devices are available upon request at access@artic.edu. Assisted listening devices are limited and available on a first come, first served basis. Requests must be made at least two weeks in advance. To learn more about access options, please visit artic.edu/visit/accessibility.

About the Speakers

Alli Boroff is the 2026–27 McMullan Arts Leadership Intern in Provenance Research. She holds a master's degree in art history and museum studies from Case Western Reserve University and a bachelor's degree in studio art and art history from Florida State University. Her research interests include histories of museum collecting and premodern artistic production, specifically in late medieval objects. At the Art Institute, she has researched objects in the Arts of the Americas and Textiles collections to add to the museum's database of provenance records.

Meadhbh Ginnane, senior research associate, conducts provenance research in all areas of the collection in collaboration with the museum’s 11 curatorial departments. She holds a master's degree in heritage studies from the University of Cambridge and a bachelor's degree in history and art history from Williams College.

Elizabeth Pope is the senior research associate in the Arts of the Americas and Textiles departments, having worked at the Art Institute of Chicago since 2005. Her primary responsibility is researching objects in the permanent collection, including their provenance, and she has published on the history of collecting ancient American/Indigenous art at the Art Institute. Trained as an art historian, anthropologist, and archaeologist, she specializes in the expressions of power and authority in ancient Mesoamerican art, architecture, and ritual performance. Elizabeth holds a PhD in art and art history from UT, Austin; an MA in archaeological studies from Yale University; and a BA in cross-cultural studies from Colgate University.