Artic

mcp-artic

Art Institute of Chicago MCP — wraps the ARTIC public API (free, no auth)

Part of Pipeworx — an MCP gateway connecting AI agents to 1872+ live data sources. This is an independent, unofficial integration — not affiliated with, endorsed by, or published by the upstream provider.

Tools

Tool	Description
search_artworks	Search the Art Institute of Chicago collection by keyword. Returns artwork titles, artists, dates, mediums, and image IDs. Use get_artwork to fetch full details.
get_artwork	Get complete details for an artwork by ID. Returns title, artist, date, medium, dimensions, description, credit line, and high-resolution image.
get_artist	Get an artist's biography and their artworks by ID. Returns name, birth/death dates, bio text, and linked artwork IDs.
get_exhibitions	Browse current and past exhibitions at the Art Institute. Returns exhibition titles, descriptions, and status (active or closed).

Quick Start

Add to your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "artic": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/artic/mcp"
    }
  }
}

What this endpoint actually serves

tools/list at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/artic/mcp returns the tools in the table above plus the shared Pipeworx meta-tools — ask_pipeworx, discover_tools, search_within, remember/recall and the rest of the gateway-wide set. So the tool count you see is larger than this table: a single-pack endpoint currently lists roughly 30 shared tools alongside the pack's own. The connection's initialize response states its exact scope, and is the authoritative answer for a given day.

This is deliberate, not multiplexing by accident. The meta-tools are what let a scoped connection answer a question this pack does not cover — via ask_pipeworx, which routes across the whole catalog — without you adding a second MCP server. There is currently no way to mount a pack endpoint without them; if the extra schemas cost you more context than the routing is worth, connect to the full gateway once rather than to several pack endpoints.

Or connect to the full Pipeworx gateway to get every pack's tools listed directly, instead of just this one's:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pipeworx": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Both URLs reach the same gateway and the same 1872+ data sources. The only difference is which pack's tools are listed directly; ask_pipeworx reaches all of them from either one.

No MCP client? Call it over HTTP

curl -X POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/artic_search_artworks \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"query":"monet water lilies"}'

No account needed for the first calls. Inspect any tool: GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/artic_search_artworks. Find one: POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/search_packs with {"query":"..."}.

Standalone (no gateway account)

This package also runs as a local stdio MCP server — no Pipeworx account, no gateway round-trip:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "artic": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-artic"]
    }
  }
}

Or run it directly to confirm it starts:

npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-artic

It speaks MCP over stdin/stdout and answers initialize/tools/list/tools/call for only this pack's tools — none of the shared meta-tools the gateway connection above adds. Same source, same tools, no ask_pipeworx routing.

Using with ask_pipeworx

Instead of calling tools directly, you can ask questions in plain English — this works on the pack endpoint above as well as on the full gateway:

ask_pipeworx({ question: "your question about Artic data" })

The gateway picks the right tool and fills the arguments automatically.

More

• Docs and guides
• pipeworx.io

License

MIT