The Cloud Gate further cemented Chicago's reputation of a city at the forefront of public art and follows in the footsteps of earlier well-known public installations such as Alexander Calder's Flamingo at Federal Center, Picasso's untitled sculpture at the City Hall and Jean Dubuffet's Monument with Standing Beast at the James R. Thompson Center.

The Name
Even before it was given an official title, Chicagoans were quick to dub the reflective steel sculpture 'the Bean' after its peculiar shape and the name stuck. The official name however is Cloud Gate as it represents a gate to the city it reflects.

Design
Cloud Gate (The Bean) was the first public sculpture of Indian-born and London-based artist Anish Kapoor. His work was selected out of two proposals that were submitted in 1999 for a showpiece sculpture in the new, modern Millennium Park, which was scheduled to open in 2000.