George Lucas’ Museum of Narrative Art Unveils Its First Exhibitions in Los Angeles

A striking new landmark is about to open in Los Angeles. The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will bring together more than 1,300 works that explore the universal tradition of storytelling through images. Founded by filmmaker George Lucas and philanthropist Mellody Hobson, the museum is the first institution dedicated to narrative art across cultures, centuries, and visual mediums.

The 300,000-square-foot building contains more than 100,000 square feet of gallery space across more than 30 galleries. Designed by Ma Yansong of MAD Architects with Stantec, its sculptural exterior has a fluid, cloud-like form that rises above the surrounding landscape. The building forms part of a 13-acre campus that includes new Park and Gardens designed by landscape architect Mia Lehrer of Studio-MLA.

Inside, the collection ranges from Renaissance painting to 20th-century illustration and contemporary visual culture. Works by Norman Rockwell, Frida Kahlo, Robert Colescott, Frank Frazetta, and Robert Crumb appear alongside comics, photography, murals, and film materials. The museum also houses the complete Lucas Archives, which document the making of films from 1971 to 2012.

The opening presentation includes galleries that explore mythology, heroes, family, work, and adventure. Rather than separating painting from comics, illustration, or cinema, the museum places these mediums within the same broader history of narrative art.

Cinema receives a significant focus through material from the Lucas Archives. Concept art, costumes, props, and other production materials demonstrate how stories move from an initial image to the screen. The museum also examines the development of animation, special effects, sound, and other cinematic techniques.

The opening program also includes galleries devoted to comics, manga, graphic novels, and illustration. Visitors can encounter work by artists who shaped these forms alongside examples from earlier traditions of narrative art. Murals receive their own presentation, including material related to Judith F. Baca’s The Great Wall of Los Angeles, which chronicles the history of California through a monumental public artwork.

The museum extends beyond its galleries with a free Research Library and Skywalker Grill. Outside, the new Park and Gardens add public green space and sculptures to the South Los Angeles neighborhood. Together, the collection, architecture, and landscape establish the Lucas Museum as a new institution focused on the many ways images communicate stories.

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opens to the public on September 22, 2026, offering Los Angeles a collection that places popular culture within one continuous history of visual storytelling.

The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opens September 22 in Los Angeles with more than 1,300 works spanning centuries of visual storytelling.

Founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, the museum brings fine art, illustration, comics, cinema, and murals together.

Its 30-plus galleries explore how images have shaped stories across cultures through subjects such as mythology, family, love, and adventure.

Designed by Ma Yansong with Stantec, the 300,000-square-foot museum rises within a new 13-acre park in Exposition Park.

The museum gives contemporary forms like comics and cinema equal standing with traditional art to show how visual storytelling connects us.

Lucas Museum of Narrative Art: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. 

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