The Art Institute of Chicago

“Grrr and Brrr… Up and Attem… Frankie and Johnnie…”? In 1927, The Chicagoan magazine received "a deluge of correspondence" when they asked readers to suggest names for the Art Institute lions. Suggestions included "Pitter and Patter" and "Hans and Fritz" among others. The tongue-in-cheek contest ignored, perhaps willfully, that our beloved lions were already named by their sculptor, Edward Kemeys. The lion on the north pedestal is “on the prowl,” the south lion “in an attitude of defiance.” 🦁