Equal parts museum and academic institution, The Art Institute of Chicago has been a fixture on the creative landscape since its founding by a group of artists in 1879. With a famous pair of bronze lions standing sentry, the not-for-profit organization's museum houses some 300,000 works of art in a dozen collections ranging from Asian art to architecture to textiles. The institute's more than 3,000 students pursue certifications, undergraduate degrees, and graduate degrees in fields such as art, fashion design, painting, sculpture, and writing. The Art Institute of Chicago is also home to the Ryerson and Burnham Libraries, which together constitute one of the world's largest art museum libraries.