Maquette for "Miró's Chicago"

By 1963, architect Bruce Graham of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill developed designs for the Brunswick Building (now the Cook Country Administrative Building), including a monumental work for the plaza just west of the structure. He commissioned Joan Miró, known for his abstract paintings and sculptures composed of biomorphic shapes, to produce a monument that would complement Pablo Picasso's planned sculpture for the new civic center (now Richard J. Daley Center) across the street.

After visiting Chicago to survey the site and designs for the building, Miró made this plaster maquette as a proposal. The commission was delayed, however, for nearly two decades, until 1980, when Mayor Jane Byrne launched new efforts to realize Miró's design: a 40-foot-tall female figure with outstretched arms made of bronze, ceramic tiles, and cement. Miró's Chicago was completed and dedicated on the artist's 88th birthday, April 20, 1981.