Art Institute of Chicago In Turmoil After President Allegedly Strips on Plane

The rising epidemic of unruly air vacationers hit the art world this weekend, when information broke that James Rondeau, the president and director of the Art Institute of Chicago allegedly disrobed within the center of a flight from the Windy City to Germany.

Unnamed sources informed CBS News that Rondeau, who has led the museum for practically a decade, allegedly “drank alcohol and took prescription medication,” then eliminated his clothes whereas on United Airlines flight 953, which traveled from Chicago to Munich on April 18. Police have been referred to as to the flight after it landed in Munich, reports the New York Times.

Via assertion, the Art Institute of Chicago confirmed the report, saying that Rondeau has returned to Chicago, and is at present on voluntary go away from his place. “The Art Institute takes this very seriously and has opened an independent investigation into the incident to gather all available information,” the assertion reads. “Art Institute leadership is meeting to determine next steps.”

James Rondeau, Director of the Art Institute of Chicago stands subsequent to the enduring portray American Gothic, 1930 by Grant Wood, as it’s put in on the Royal Academy of Arts forward of the exhibition “America After The Fall: Painting in the 1930s” at Royal Academy of Arts on February 13, 2017 in London, England.

Tristan Fewings/Getty Images

Founded in 1879, the Art Institute of Chicago is one of the most important artwork museums within the US, with over 300,000 items in its permanent collection and over 30 special exhibitions a yr. It’s house to works resembling Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks, Georges Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte (the inspiration for Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park With George), and—opposite to the claims of President Donald Trump—Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Two Sisters (On the Terrace).

Rondeau was appointed as museum president and director in 2016, following the retirement of longtime chief Douglas Druick. He’s been on the Art Institute since 1998, first becoming a member of the group as an affiliate curator of modern artwork. Art Institute tax records present he’s paid over $1 million yearly.

United Airlines has not responded to Vanity Fair’s request for remark, however the April 18 incident on flight 953 is however one in a rising quantity of reviews of unruly air vacationers. According to information from the Federal Aviation Administration, in-flight outbursts have sharply risen since 2019, prompting the company to start referring circumstances of passenger-related flight disruptions to the FBI. So far this yr, the FAA has received 524 reviews of unruly passengers, with 2,102 reported in 2024.