The Art Institute of Chicago has closed the third floor of its Modern Wing for seven months so that the museum can refinish floors, pedestals and walls and adjust lighting. The third floor houses the museum’s collection of European modern art, which will be sent to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, TX until work on the four-year-old gallery reaches completion in mid-April 2014.  

While some have found the renovation of the next-to-new gallery odd, Douglas Druick, the Art Institute’s president, said that the work has been long-planned. The Art Institute has been getting record traffic, which can put added strain on an exhibition space.

Approximately 100 masterpieces from the Art Institute’s collection will be on view at the Kimbell in the exhibition The Age of Picasso and Matisse: Modern Masters from the Art Institute of Chicago. The show includes Pablo Picasso’s Old Guitarist (1903) and Joan Miro’s Policeman (1925). The Age of Picasso and Matisse will be on view at the Kimbell Art Museum from October 6, 2013 through February 16, 2014.