MCA 50: Celebrating "The Picasso"

The unveiling of "the Picasso," Aug 1967

Image courtesy of the MCA Library and Archives

We dedicate this celebrated work this morning with the belief that what is strange to us today will be familiar tomorrow.

—Richard J. Daley

As we prepare to celebrate the MCA’s 50th birthday this October, we look back at some other major events that took place half a century ago, including the release of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the first music festival (called Monterey Pop), the appointment of Thurgood Marshall to the United States Supreme Court, and the first Super Bowl! Today, Chicagoans celebrated the unveiling of their Picasso at a re-creation of the unveiling event at Daley Plaza, which occurred 50 years ago. Below we feature some memories of the occasion, which our first director, Jan van der Marck, attended.

Jan van der Marck after the unveiling of "the Picasso," Aug 1967 Image courtesy of the MCA Library and Archives

The Picasso sculpture was unveiled 50 years ago and some people REALLY hated it via @Chicagoist: https://t.co/QaoSdErGnl pic.twitter.com/bLyyeDlUXg

— Chicago Architecture Center (@chiarchitecture) August 8, 2017