Chicago Museum Director Under Investigation After Airplane Incident

James Rondeau, the president and director of the Art Institute of Chicago, has taken a voluntary leave from the museum after an incident on board a flight to Germany last month.

During the incident, which occurred on April 18 and was first reported by CBS News, police were called to United Airlines flight 953 after it landed in Munich from Chicago, following reports that Rondeau had stripped off his clothes. CBS reported that the incident occurred after he drank alcohol and took prescription medication.

A spokeswoman for the Art Institute on Saturday confirmed that the report was accurate and that Rondeau had taken a leave from work. In a statement, the museum said: “The Art Institute takes this very seriously and has opened an independent investigation into the incident to gather all available information.”

Rondeau did not respond to requests for comment.

Founded in 1879, the Art Institute is one of the country’s leading museums, with an operating budget of $120 million and a full-time staff of about 600. Visitors come from all over the world to view its masterpieces, including George Seurat’s, “A Sunday on La Grande Jatte,” Edward Hopper’s “Nighthawks,” Paul Cézanne’s “The Bathers” and “The Bedroom” by Vincent van Gogh.

Last fall, the museum announced a $75 million gift from Aaron I. Fleischman, a trustee, and his wife, Lin Lougheed, to support new galleries in late-19th-century, modern and contemporary art.

Rondeau — whose total compensation is more than $1 million, according to the most recent tax records — was appointed in 2016, after serving as the Institute’s chairman and curator of modern and contemporary art. He has been a leading proponent of integrating works by women and artists of color into the collection.

“This variety and balance is core to our mission,” Rondeau told The Times in 2022. “We are able to leverage more established names while introducing new work and providing a more expansive view about contemporary art.”