The perception of Chicago in the latter half of the twentieth century as the “second city,” provincial and uncultured, did not merely affect the city's artists and weigh on critics’ minds when assessing them. Local arts institutions as well were influenced by the notion that the most forward-looking and important artists lived in New York and on the Continent. As a result, the presentation of home-grown talent often relied on strategies that ranged between outright boosterism and plodding civic duty, at times obscuring the achievements of local artists. Presented by Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago adjunct curator Lynne Warren, this lecture examines the exhibition programs at the Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art, the Smart Museum, and other institutions from the 1940s to the present day to analyze the way “curating Chicago” shaped Chicago’s unique art production.