Artist unknown

Artist unknown designates works whose creators have not been identified. Throughout history, many skilled sculptors, metalworkers, and ceramicists worked without signing their pieces or were part of large workshops where individual authorship wasn't recorded. This is especially common with ancient and medieval art, where the concept of individual artistic credit didn't always apply.

The works attributed to unknown artists in our collection span cultures, centuries, and materials. From bronze figurines to carved stone reliefs, these pieces remind us that some of the finest objects in museum collections were made by people whose names didn't survive. Our collection includes 8 works by unidentified artists at the Art Institute of Chicago.