The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the finest museums in the world, and one of the Midwest's preeminent art institutions. Its collections span 5 000 years and draw on the cultures of Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. Its collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist paintings is one of the largest outside France. The institute was expanded in 2009 with Renzo Piano's Modern Wing (6 000 m2), which is connected to Millennium Park by Nichols Bridge.