Art Institute lions to be deep-cleaned for first time in 21 years

CHICAGO - Chicago's famed Art Institute lions will be conspicuously absent for the next several weeks. They are getting a much-needed bath. It's been 21 years since their last cleaning.

The 2-ton bronze lions will be hoisted by cranes and transported to a facility in Forest Park Tuesday, where they'll be steam-cleaned and then coated with a wax preservative.

It's more than a spa day for the lions. The Art Institute said they will be gone for about a month.

The lions have sported many different looks over the years, wearing Christmas wreaths during the holidays and sports caps, helmets and jerseys to celebrate Chicago sports teams.
During the pandemic, they donned giant face masks.

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While they are very popular with tourists who are constantly taking selfies, they were created for the Columbian Exposition back in 1893. They were first made of plaster but later cast in bronze, according Stephanie Larson who works at the Art Institute.

The sculptor created one of the lions with a look of defiance and the other is shown on the prowl, but they were never given names.

Larson said she loves how the public interacts with the lions but remind everybody to never climb on top. She recounted a story where one woman learned the hard way.

"A guard told me a story of how a woman in short shorts in the middle of August went to climb and sit on the top of the lion, and he was like 'Oh my God please don't do that mam!'
And she found out very quickly that they get hot," Larson said