Los Angeles has a new treasure!

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art has now opened. From the outside, it is an architectural marvel, curvacious and sleek, more of a piece of enormous sculpture than a building. But inside, it is filled with great art, a unique collection of artists who used their art to tell visual stories.

Mellody and George Lucas are pleased to offer a museum that shows off the importance of Narrative Art. Artists have long illustrated mythology, telling visual stories which help us understand the mysteries of life.

Lucas defined it this way, "Narrative art tells the story of a society, what the common beliefs are that hold it together." Lucas' film Star Wars is but one example of narrative art.

In a way, narrative artists are the shamans of our modern age. Obi-Wan Kenobi's urging, "Luke, let go, use the Force," echoes the myths and teachings of cultures from across the ages.

At the heart of George Lucas’s vision of narrative art is the influence of Joseph Campbell.

Joseph Campbell was a respected authority on the comparative myths across the ages and across the globe. These myths have common threads which reveal shared truths about the human experience from different times and places. In his monumental book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, he called this recurring pattern the “monomyth.”

Campbell’s work profoundly influenced Lucas and the creation of Star Wars. As Lucas once observed, “If it hadn’t been for Joseph Campbell, it’s possible I would still be trying to write Star Wars.”

In 1985 and 1986, Lucas hosted the filming of a now-famous series of conversations between Joseph Campbell and journalist Bill Moyers at Skywalker Ranch in Marin County, California. The resulting series, Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth, remains a wonderfully insightful exploration of mythology, storytelling, and the human condition. It is now available through PBS Documentaries.

Of all the great narrative artists, George Lucas holds Norman Rockwell in highest regard. What he liked most about Rockwell is that he approached his paintings like a movie director. Before picking up a brush, Rockwell gave special attention to casting the characters in his paintings, picking out effective costumes and staging and lighting the scene. Each composition spoke to the human heart, touching chords which resonated with feeling, reminiscence, and compassion. And, he left ample room for viewers to use their imaginations to go beyond the frame. The result was that he could tell an entire cinematic story in one frame!

The Shadow Artist (1920) was published in The Country Gentleman in 1920. Rockwell captured the wonder of childhood as a group of children watch an older man use his fingers and the light of an oil lamp to conjure an animal’s shadow on the wall—a small, magical performance that celebrates imagination, simple pleasures, and the delight of storytelling.

The Toymaker was created for Literary Digest, celebrating the magic of handmade toys. The craftsman's imagination and joy, transforming simple materials into treasured childhood playthings is most appreciated by attentive expressions of his clients.

The Sleepy Scholar struggles with his Latin grammar, but seems to have abundant energy for baseball and for carving cartoon images onto his desk. I have been unable to learn the circumstances of this Rockwell painting.

Barefoot Boy Daydreaming was done for the Literary Digest in 1922. The boy is luxuriating in the carefree freedom of childhood, and the joy of letting the imagination wander.

Age of Romance was the cover art of the Saturday Evening Post in November of 1923. Here, a young boy dreams of himself as one of the medieval knights defending fair maidens, surrounded by castles and adventure, with his faithful dog alongside.

Boys and Girls First Aid Week was created in 1926 for the Bauer and Black Medical Supplies company for advertising purposes. It celebrates the spirit of helpfulness and civic responsibility among America's youth.

Going Out shows a younger sister in her pj's longing for the day when she can dress up like her big sister. It was the cover art for the Saturday Evening Post in October of 1933. Rockwell gave this original painting to a neighbor whose daughter resembled the little girl in this scene.

Rockwell created The Same Advice I Gave Your Dad for a Listerine ad campaign. Rockwell used a bit of nostalgia to show the trust between a small boy and the much older generation. This scene appeared in numerous publications over the years, making it one of the most published of Rockwell's commercial illustrations.

A teenaged boy forgoes his catcher's mitt, baseball and his dog as he seems wonderstruck by the photos of three Hollywood starlets. Starstruck was the cover art for The Saturday Evening Post in September of 1934. The boy who posed for this painting was John Cullen Murphy, later a successful illustrator and comic-strip artist.

Exhilaration shows a young girl and dog with windswept scarf and ears flapping in the wind. Her fellow passenger holds on to his hat as this 1930's roadster accelerates. Where they are coming from or where they are going doesn't matter, the story is that they are on their way. The visual story here is one of movement and joy, of letting go and enjoying the moment. This was the cover of The Saturday Evening Post, July 13, 1935, when the nation was not speeding along, but instead weighed down with the Great Depression.

Peach Crop illustrates a short story by Ruth Burr Sanborn in the April 1935 issue of The American Magazine. Rockwell captures a pivotal moment in a young medical student’s life. Torn between his wealthy fiancée and a poor farmworker’s daughter whose kindness inspires him, he discovers that true love and compassion matter more than wealth or social standing.

A young boy's distaste for dreaded bitter medicine meets the loving determination of his well intentioned grandmother. Medicine Giver, aka Take your Medicine was the May 1936 cover of the Saturday Evening Post.

Echoes of Romance was originally created as a possible advertising image for Coca Cola. When that idea didn't pan out for Rockwell, he used it as a cover illustration for This Week Magazine.

Dreamboats captures these two adolescent girls skirting dormitory rules as they gaze upon contraband photos of Hollywood heartthrobs which they had hidden in a pillow case. This painting served as the cover art for the February 19, 1938 issue of the Saturday Evening Post.

Horseshoe Forging Contest was an illustration for a short story, Edward W. O'Brien's Blacksmith's Boy - Heel and Toe published in the Saturday Evening Post. Here Rockwell shows this Vermont blacksmith contest as a community spectacle, not only showing the heat and rhythm of the forge, but the power of pride and rivalry. Rockwell included over twenty carefully conceived and expressive townspeople taking in the excitement of the scene.

Marbles Champion tells the earth shattering story of a girl beating two astonished boys. Her overflowing bag of marbles amplifies her confident expression. There's a lot of drama here This is not just a childhood game, but a contest of skill, rivalry and unexpected victory. The boy in the red cap was modeled by Rockwell's oldest son Jarvis, his debut as one of his father's models. This painting was the cover art of The Saturday Evening Post September 2, 1939.

The Convention Hatcheck Girl tells the story of an overlooked, weary worker amid the clamor and revelry of a convention. Burdened beneath a mountain of coats, hats, scarves, and umbrellas, she navigates the clutter while an abandoned cigar smolders at her feet. Viewers readily recognize her exhausted expression, perhaps recalling moments when their own efforts have gone unnoticed. But Rockwell tells a larger story: that of the countless unsung people whose labor makes our amusements, comforts, and everyday conveniences possible.

Norman Rockwell Visits a Country Editor shows Norman Rockwell, entering the front door of the Monroe County Appeal in Paris, Missouri with his portfolio and signature pipe. This busy newspaper office is the beating heart of this town. Although this photo is not clear enough for us to read the front page of the newspaper, the paper is reporting on the death of President Franklin Roosevelt, a solemn and somber day in Paris, Missouri as daily life goes on. This painting was published in The Saturday Evening Post a month after the President's death in May of 1946.

Saying Grace captures a moment when personal piety risks public ridicule. Rockwell was inspired by an account he had heard of a Mennonite family praying in a Philadelphia restaurant, transforming that story into a memorable scene of everyday life. The painting is about more than religious devotion; it is equally an observation of those who witness it. Rockwell’s neighbor, May Walker, modeled for the older woman, while his son Jarvis posed as the boy. The painting appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post on November 24, 1957, just in time for Thanksgiving.

In Study for The Shiner we never see the fight, only its unexpected aftermath: a schoolgirl's triumphant grin, rumpled hair, and spectacular black eye. For this young combatant, the injury is not a source of shame but a trophy of victory, well worth the pain and the principal's discipline yet to come. Eleven-year-old Mary Whalen posed for the painting, which appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post on May 23, 1953. This study is on view at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles; the finished painting belongs to the collection of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, Connecticut.

Here's a recognizable clash. In Construction Crew, (aka Bulldozer and Baseball Game, Home Plate) a group of neighborhood kids have laid claim to a vacant property they have transformed into the sandlot, their imaginary version of Yankee Stadium. The foreman of the work crew, once a boy himself, begins to cope with the dimension of the problem he faces while balancing the demands of his job. Steam shovels want to dig, and don't appreciate the drama playing out in front of it. This painting was the cover illustration for The Saturday Evening Post on August 21, 1954.

Here's a familiar clash of worlds. In Construction Crew (also known as Bulldozer and Baseball Game (Home Plate)), a group of neighborhood kids has laid claim to a vacant lot, transforming it into their own sandlot version of Yankee Stadium. The foreman, once a boy himself, begins to grasp the dimensions of the problem before him as he weighs the demands of his job against the boys' determination to play ball. The steam shovel is ready to dig, indifferent to the drama. Rockwell captures that moment when the demands of the adult world collide with the irresistible claims of childhood. The painting was on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post on August 21, 1954.

After the Prom captures a magical moment in a rather unmagical spot. Wearing their first formal gown and rented tuxedo, a young teen aged couple continue their big evening out with a stop at their favorite local hangout. The soda jerk, perhaps known to them from previous visits, plays along with the occasion, leaning forward to catch the fragrance of the girl's corsage as she proudly offers it. Her date watches attentively, brimming with pride. Nearby, a truck driver pauses over his coffee to take in this tender moment. The painting appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post on May 25, 1957.

Missing Tooth celebrates a universally recognizable moment. A red-haired girl excitedly displays the gap left by her missing front tooth with wide-eyed. Her companion in the green dress offers a striking contrast appearing restrained and skeptical. This contrast adds a touch of ambiguity and humor to Rockwell's intimate study of childhood. The painting was the cover of The Saturday Evening Post on September 7, 1957, and is connected to his promotional work for Crest toothpaste.

The Rookie captures that awkward moment when a young talent enters the locker room and has to measure himself among the seasoned veterans of the Boston Red Sox. Rockwell visited the Red Sox' spring-training locker room in Sarasota. Back in Massachusetts, he recruited “Scotty” Saffor local HS kid whom Rockwell recruited. Real Red Sox are featured in this painting, Ted Williams stands at center, pitcher Frank Sullivan (#18) sits on the bench, outfielder Jackie Jensen ties his shoe, catcher Sammy White watches from the lower left, and infielder Billy Goodman stands at far right. This painting was The Saturday Evening Post on March 2, 1957, just a few weeks prior to Opening Day. The Red Sox finished that season with an mildly successful 82–72 record, placing third in the American League behind the Yankees and White Sox. The original painting sold at auction for over 22 million dollars. The owner chooses to remain private.

The Runaway appeared on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post on September 20, 1958. Rockwell posed Ed Locke, an eight-year-old from Stockbridge, Massachusetts, beside Massachusetts State Trooper Dick Clemens, then 30. The painting’s quiet theme is community policing, 1950s style. Rockwell had run away himself as a boy, only to turn back home after wandering near the water, kicking stones. In The Runaway, this boy gets as far as the nearest diner, where a friendly officer meets this small act of childhood independence not with handcuffs but with a seat at the counter. Readers couldn't help but finish the story with the boy riding in the police car as he is returned to his relieved parents.

Stained Glass Window graced the April 16, 1960, cover of The Saturday Evening Post. Years earlier, while visiting London, Norman Rockwell had watched a workman repairing a stained-glass window at Westminster Abbey. Recalling the scene, he turned to Rowan LeCompte, a renowned stained-glass artist, for advice on capturing the medium’s luminous brilliance in paint. LeCompte also served as the model for the workman. The window itself, however, was not copied from Westminster Abbey; Rockwell incorporated elements of LeCompte’s own stained-glass designs.

In The Problem We All Live With, Norman Rockwell turns his storytelling skills toward the Civil Rights Movement. The painting depicts six-year-old Ruby Bridges being escorted by four federal marshals into William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans on November 14, 1960. Rockwell painted the scene in his Stockbridge, Massachusetts, studio, using local neighbor Lynda Gunn as his model for Ruby.

Rather than reproduce a historical snapshot, Rockwell crafted a carefully staged composition that conveys the injustice of a child needing federal protection simply to attend school. A tomato splattered against the wall and a racial epithet scrawled beside it evoke the hatred awaiting her beyond the frame. This is not the familiar, reassuring vision of Americana for which Rockwell was known. Here, he reveals another side of himself, courageously confronting the nation with the distance between its ideals and its actions. Rockwell’s America could be sweet, tender, and nostalgic, but when the subject demanded it, he could bare his teeth.

The painting was published as a two-page spread in Look magazine on January 14, 1964. The original is in the collection of the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and is currently on loan to the Lucas Museum.

Little Girl Looking Downstairs at Christmas Party graced the December 1964 cover of McCall’s magazine. Staged on the staircase of Rockwell’s own home, the painting was developed from photographs and several color studies before he completed the final canvas. From a filmmaker’s perspective, notice how Rockwell positions his “camera” to tell an entire story in a single image. The girl, perched above the festivities, is an unseen observer peering into the fascinating, forbidden world of adults—a world she will one day enter herself. In a sense, she is looking into her own future. Even her doll has been set aside as the party below captures her full attention.

Cinematically, First Trip to the Beauty Shop unfolds through the reflection in a beauty shop mirror. As this young redheaded girl peers at her reflection, she discovers an exciting, never-before-seen version of herself. Her delighted expression radiates surprise, wonder, and the thrill of transformation. To me, she embodies the same exuberance and sparkling vitality of 1930s Hollywood starlet Shirley Temple. This painting appeared in the 1972 Top Value Trading Stamp Catalog.

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art belongs on your bucket list, and after having been there, you will want to return again and again.

Beyond its remarkable galleries, you can linger over a meal at the rooftop Skywalker Grill, grab a coffee or a bite at the café, or lose yourself in the library’s rich world of books and visual storytelling. The museum’s two theaters offer yet another reason to come back, with a diverse, ever-engaging array of films that invites you to discover something new with each visit.

Whether you come for the art, the cinema, the food, or simply the pleasure of spending time in a place devoted to the power of stories, the Lucas Museum offers far more than a single day can capture. One visit may introduce you to its wonders; the next will reveal something new.

Salute to our great Gallery Neighbor, Roadhouse Coffee. Their Coffee Shop Cat "Snowball" moonlights as our gallery cat. He's a real hit among visitors. The photo below shows our FB post about their recognition in the Press Democrat Sept 30 issue.