James Rondeau reportedly stripped off his clothing after drinking alcohol and taking prescription medication on a flight in April from Chicago to Munich. Rondeau has led the Art Institute of Chicago since 2016.
By Kade Heather
Updated May 3, 2025, 6:06pm CDT
Art Institute of Chicago Director James Rondeau has temporarily stepped down amid an investigation into his behavior on a flight April 18 from Chicago to Germany.
The Art Institute of Chicago is investigating its director, James Rondeau, after he reportedly stripped off his clothes after drinking alcohol and taking prescription medication on a flight in April from Chicago to Germany.
According to CBS News, which first reported the incident, police were called April 18 for a report that Rondeau had stripped his clothes on a United Airlines flight after it landed in Munich. CBS reported Rondeau drank alcohol and took prescription medication before the incident.
When reached by phone Saturday, a spokesperson for the museum issued a statement: “The Art Institute takes this very seriously and has opened an independent investigation into the incident to gather all available information.”
In addition, the spokesperson confirmed that Rondeau “will voluntarily be taking some time away from the office while the investigation is completed.”
James Rondeau “will voluntarily be taking some time away from the office while the investigation is completed,”.the Art institute said Saturday.
Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Royal Academy of Arts
Rondeau was appointed president and director of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2016. At the time, the chairperson of the museum’s board of trustees, Robert Levy, lauded Rondeau as “an internationally respected curator and scholar.”
Rondeau had led two of the Art Institute’s curatorial departments before taking the president and director role. He has received more than $1 million in salary, recent tax records show.
He joined the museum in 1998 as an associate curator of contemporary art. Over the years, he also worked as the museum’s curator and chair of photography and oversaw the merger of the Art Institute’s Departments of Contemporary and Modern Art.
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