# Art Institute of Chicago Scraper - Artworks & Images (`logiover/artic-artwork-scraper`) Actor

Scrape the Art Institute of Chicago collection in bulk. Extract artwork title, artist, date, medium, dimensions, department, origin, public-domain status, credit line and IIIF image URL to CSV/JSON. No API key.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/logiover/artic-artwork-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Logiover](https://apify.com/logiover) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.50 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Art Institute of Chicago Scraper - Artworks & Images

![Apify Actor](https://img.shields.io/badge/Apify-Actor-00A67E?logo=apify\&logoColor=white) ![No API key](https://img.shields.io/badge/No%20API%20key-required-2ea44f) ![Pay per result](https://img.shields.io/badge/Pricing-Pay%20per%20result-1C7ED6) ![Export](https://img.shields.io/badge/Export-JSON%20%7C%20CSV%20%7C%20Excel-F59E0B)

**Scrape the Art Institute of Chicago collection in bulk. Extract artwork title, artist, date, medium, dimensions, department, origin, public-domain status, credit line and IIIF image URL to CSV/JSON. No API key.**

***

### What does the Art Institute of Chicago Scraper do?

This Actor turns any Art Institute of Chicago search into a structured dataset. You give it across the collection or by search term, it walks the result pages one after another, and it writes one clean row per artwork into your dataset — ready to export as JSON, CSV or Excel, or to pull straight from the Apify API.

The museum publishes its whole collection through a documented, keyless JSON API with a `fields` parameter, so the Actor requests exactly the columns it maps. Image URLs are built against the museum's IIIF endpoint, which means every row points at a real, downloadable image rather than a thumbnail. Pagination is followed automatically until it runs out of results, hits your page limit or hits your **Max items** cap, whichever comes first. Every row is de-duplicated across the whole run, so you are never billed twice for the same artwork.

There is **no API key, no login and no browser** involved. That keeps runs fast and cheap, and it means you can schedule the Actor without worrying about credentials expiring.

### Who is it for?

- **AI and ML teams** assembling image datasets with reliable provenance and licensing.
- **Digital humanities researchers** analysing a collection at scale.
- **Publishers and educators** sourcing public-domain artwork legally.
- **Cultural-sector developers** building discovery tools on open collection data.
- **Designers** looking for high-resolution reference imagery.

### Use cases

- Export the collection filtered to public-domain works for reuse.
- Build an image dataset with artist, date and medium labels.
- Analyse how a department's holdings are distributed by period.
- Search the collection by keyword and export every match.
- Assemble a reference library of high-resolution artwork images.

### Why use this Art Institute of Chicago Scraper?

- 🔑 **Keyless** — no account, no API token, no cookies to paste.
- 📦 **16 fields per artwork** — everything the result page exposes, already typed.
- 📄 **Real pagination** — it walks page after page instead of returning the first screen.
- 🎯 **Precise caps** — **Max items** stops the run exactly where you want it, so the bill is predictable.
- 📊 **Export anywhere** — JSON, CSV, Excel or HTML, plus the Apify API and integrations.
- 💸 **Pay per result** — you pay for rows you actually receive, with no platform fees to calculate.

### What data can you extract?

Every run produces one row per artwork, with these fields:

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `artworkId` | string | Museum object ID |
| `title` | string | Artwork title |
| `artworkUrl` | string | Public page for the artwork |
| `artist` | string | Primary artist |
| `dateDisplay` | string | Date as the museum displays it |
| `medium` | string | Medium description |
| `dimensions` | string | Dimensions as published |
| `department` | string | Museum department |
| `artworkType` | string | Object type, e.g. Painting or Print |
| `placeOfOrigin` | string | Place of origin |
| `isPublicDomain` | boolean | Whether the work is in the public domain |
| `creditLine` | string | Credit line for attribution |
| `imageUrl` | string | Full-size IIIF image URL |
| `query` | string | Search term this row came from |
| `page` | number | Result page the artwork appeared on |
| `scrapedAt` | string | ISO timestamp of extraction |

#### Output example

```json
{
  "artist": "James McNeill Whistler",
  "artworkId": "2848",
  "artworkType": "Drawing and Watercolor",
  "artworkUrl": "https://www.artic.edu/artworks/2848",
  "creditLine": "Gift of John F. O'Connell",
  "dateDisplay": "1855/57",
  "department": "Prints and Drawings",
  "dimensions": "22.4 \u00d7 24 cm (8 7/8 \u00d7 9 1/2 in.)",
  "imageUrl": "https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/15c13ae6-7fe8-d06b-7462-aee0c985b220/full/843,/0/default.jpg",
  "isPublicDomain": true,
  "medium": "Pen and black ink and black watercolor over graphite, with touches of white opaque paint (discolored), on tan laid paper laid down on cream board",
  "page": 1,
  "placeOfOrigin": "United States",
  "query": "whole collection",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-09-15T07:53:03.059Z",
  "title": "Scene from Bohemian Life"
}
```

### How to use

#### Option A — across the collection

```json
{
  "maxItems": 1000,
  "maxPagesPerSearch": 10,
  "publicDomainOnly": true,
  "searchTerms": []
}
```

1. Open the Actor and fill in the across the collection field.
2. Set **Max pages per search** and **Max items** to bound the run.
3. Click **Start**, then export from the **Output** tab.

#### Option B — by search term

```json
{
  "maxItems": 500,
  "maxPagesPerSearch": 10,
  "searchTerms": [
    "impressionism"
  ]
}
```

Paste one or more Art Institute of Chicago URLs into **Start URLs** and the Actor paginates each of them independently.

### Input parameters

| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|-----------|------|---------|-------------|
| `searchTerms` | array | `[]` | Search the collection. |
| `publicDomainOnly` | boolean | `false` | Keep only artworks the museum marks as public domain. |
| `maxPagesPerSearch` | integer | `4` | How many result pages to walk for each search. |
| `maxItems` | integer | `150` | Stop after this many artworks. |
| `maxConcurrency` | integer | `2` | Parallel requests. |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | `{"useApifyProxy": true}` | Proxy used to fetch pages. |

### Tips for best results

- Leave the search term empty to walk the whole collection — the museum publishes over 130,000 objects.
- The API returns up to 100 records per page, so large exports need few requests.
- `isPublicDomain` is the field that decides whether you can reuse an image; filter on it first.
- `imageUrl` is a full-size IIIF link — change the size segment if you want smaller files.
- Rows with a null `imageUrl` have no digitised image, which is normal for parts of any collection.
- `department` is the cleanest way to slice the collection into coherent subsets.
- Schedule occasional runs; museum collections change slowly compared with commercial data.
- Always keep `creditLine` with the image if you republish the work.
- Keep **Max concurrency** low — the API is free and lightly resourced.
- Pair with the Cleveland Museum scraper for a second open-access collection.

### Integrations

Send results straight into the tools you already use: **Google Sheets**, **Slack**, **Zapier**, **Make**, **Airtable** or any **Webhook**. You can also **schedule** the Actor to run hourly, daily or weekly and have each run append to the same dataset, which is how you build a price or availability history rather than a one-off snapshot.

### API usage

Run the Actor and collect results from any language. Replace `<YOUR_TOKEN>` with your Apify API token.

**cURL**

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/logiover~artic-artwork-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"maxItems": 1000, "maxPagesPerSearch": 10, "publicDomainOnly": true, "searchTerms": []}'
```

**Node.js**

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '<YOUR_TOKEN>' });
const run = await client.actor('logiover/artic-artwork-scraper').call({"maxItems": 1000, "maxPagesPerSearch": 10, "publicDomainOnly": true, "searchTerms": []});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);
```

**Python**

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient('<YOUR_TOKEN>')
run = client.actor('logiover/artic-artwork-scraper').call(run_input={"maxItems": 1000, "maxPagesPerSearch": 10, "publicDomainOnly": true, "searchTerms": []})
for item in client.dataset(run['defaultDatasetId']).iterate_items():
    print(item)
```

### Use with AI agents (MCP)

This Actor is available through the Apify MCP server, so an AI agent can call it as a tool. Point your agent at `https://mcp.apify.com` and it can run the Art Institute of Chicago Scraper on demand — for example: *"Pull the first 500 artworks from Art Institute of Chicago and summarise the price distribution."* The agent receives the same structured rows you would get from the UI.

### FAQ

#### Do I need a Art Institute of Chicago account or API key?

No. The Actor reads publicly available pages only. There is nothing to authenticate and no credentials to rotate.

#### How many artworks can I get in one run?

As many as the search exposes. Raise **Max pages per search** and **Max items** together; the run stops at whichever limit it reaches first.

#### Why did I get fewer rows than I asked for?

The search ran out of artworks. That is normal for narrow queries — broaden the search or add more searches to one run.

#### Are results de-duplicated?

Yes. Each artwork is emitted once per run, even when it appears on several pages, so you are never billed twice for the same record.

#### Why are some fields empty?

Art Institute of Chicago does not publish every attribute for every artwork. Empty means the source did not show it, not that extraction failed.

#### What export formats are supported?

JSON, CSV, Excel, HTML and RSS from the **Output** tab, plus the Apify API and any integration you connect.

#### How fast is it?

It is pure HTTP with no browser, so a page of results typically takes a second or two. Raise **Max concurrency** carefully — the source rate-limits aggressive crawling.

#### Can I schedule it?

Yes. Use the Apify scheduler to run it on any interval and append each run to the same dataset for time-series analysis.

#### Does it work behind a proxy?

It uses Apify Proxy automatically. You can switch groups or supply your own proxies in **Proxy configuration**.

#### How often does the data change?

Art Institute of Chicago updates continuously. Re-run whenever you need current data; the Actor always reads the live pages, never a cache.

#### Is the output schema stable?

Yes. Field names and types are fixed, so downstream pipelines will not break between runs.

#### What if the site changes its layout?

Open an issue on the **Issues** tab and it gets fixed. The Actor is actively maintained.

### Is it legal?

This Actor reads only publicly available pages on Art Institute of Chicago — the same content any visitor sees without logging in. It does not bypass authentication, does not collect private data and does not attempt to defeat access controls. You are responsible for how you use the output: respect the source's terms of service, applicable copyright, and data-protection law such as GDPR where personal data is involved. Scraping public data is generally lawful in the EU and the US, but the responsibility for the downstream use of that data sits with you.

### Related scrapers

- [Cleveland Museum Scraper](https://apify.com/logiover/cleveland-art-scraper) — A second open-access collection
- [Openverse Scraper](https://apify.com/logiover/openverse-scraper) — Openly licensed media
- [Wikidata Scraper](https://apify.com/logiover/wikidata-scraper) — Structured reference data
- [Website Image Extractor](https://apify.com/logiover/website-image-media-extractor) — Bulk image extraction

# Actor input Schema

## `searchTerms` (type: `array`):

Search the collection. Leave empty to walk it in catalogue order.

## `publicDomainOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Keep only artworks the museum marks as public domain.

## `maxPagesPerSearch` (type: `integer`):

How many result pages to walk for each search. Set 0 for no limit.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many artworks. Set 0 for no limit.

## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`):

Parallel requests. Lower this if the site rate-limits you.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Proxy used to fetch pages. Defaults to Apify Proxy (automatic). You usually do not need to change this.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchTerms": [],
  "publicDomainOnly": false,
  "maxPagesPerSearch": 4,
  "maxItems": 150,
  "maxConcurrency": 2,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

All artworks extracted in this run.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "maxPagesPerSearch": 4,
    "maxItems": 150,
    "maxConcurrency": 2
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("logiover/artic-artwork-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "maxPagesPerSearch": 4,
    "maxItems": 150,
    "maxConcurrency": 2,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("logiover/artic-artwork-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "maxPagesPerSearch": 4,
  "maxItems": 150,
  "maxConcurrency": 2
}' |
apify call logiover/artic-artwork-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,logiover/artic-artwork-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/7zacBgcq5R5gAAOb5/builds/OtErN1FD0gKNM4zj9/openapi.json