“Narrative art tells the story of a society—most importantly, what the common beliefs are that hold it together.”

George Lucas, Co-founder

Frida Kahlo Autorretrato dedicado al Dr. Eloesser (Self-Portrait Dedicated to Dr. Eloesser), 1940 Oil on Masonite 34 x 26 x 3 ½ in. framed 2020.50.1

Norman Rockwell Shuffleton's Barbershop, cover for The Saturday​ Evening Post, April 29, 1950​​ Oil on canvas 46 ¼ x 43 ¼ in.; 51 ½ x 48 ¾ in. framed 2018.10.1

Kadir Nelson Art Connoisseurs, cover for The New Yorker, December 2, 2019 Oil on panel 74 x 64 x 4 ½ in. framed; 60 x 50 x 1 ½ in. canvas 2020.11.4

Narrative art has proliferated in photography, magazine and book illustration, film, and digital media, addressing wide audiences and reminding them of the myths and stories that influence everyday life. ​

The Lucas Museum shows how narrative art influences societies—shaping beliefs, communicating values, inspiring imagination, and creating communities. We empower people to engage with artworks through the compelling stories they tell.​

Narrative art is created to represent stories through images. Much of the world’s artistic expression has been motivated by storytelling, transmitting narratives rooted in religion, myth, history, literature, or events. Narrative art appears in many forms, from cave drawings and hieroglyphics to paintings, murals, illustration, comics, and sculpture.

N.C. Wyeth, "Ramona and Alessandro on the Narrow Trail," illustration for Ramona, 1939, Oil on hardboard, 34 x 25 ¾ in. frame; 25 x 16 ¾ in. board, PKY.5707

Gordon Parks​, Department Store, Mobile Alabama,​ 1956​, unpublished photograph for LIFE, 1956, 1965, (Printed 2012), Archival pigment print, 28 × 28 in. (71.1 × 71.1 cm)

Maxfield Parrish, Ecstasy, illustration for Edison Mazda calendar, 1930, Oil on board​, 32 × 23 in. (81.3 × 58.4 cm)

Norman Rockwell​, Age of Romance, cover for The Saturday Evening Post, November 10, 1923, Oil on canvas​, 30 × 24 in. (76.2 × 61 cm)

Ernie Barnes, The Critic’s Corner, 2007, Acrylic on canvas, 28 ½ x 40 7/16 x 2 ½ in. framed, 2020.38.5

Joey Terrill, Cover art for Chicos Modernos vol. 3, 1989, Ink and colored pencil on paper, 8 x 6 ½ in. 2021.16.21

Marie-George Jean Méilès, Storyboard for La voyage dans la lune (A Trip to the Moon), 1902, Pen, ink, colored pencil on paper, 2020.54.1

Frank Frazetta​, Cover for A Princess of Mars, 1970​, Oil on canvas board​, 19 ½ x 15 ½ in.

Norman Rockwell, The Gossips, cover for The Saturday Evening Post, March 6, 1948, Oil on canvas​, 33 x 31 in.

Paul C. Stahr, Retouching an Old Masterpiece, cover for Life, July 1, 1915, Watercolor, gouache, pen and black ink on paper, 29 x 26 in. frame; 22 ¾ x 19 ¼ in. paper, PKY.282

Thomas Hart Benton​, American Historical Epic, Second Chapter: Axes (Clearing the Land), 1924-27, Oil on cotton duck, 58 × 40 1/8 in. (147.3 × 101.9 cm), Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Los Angeles

Pieter Brueghel the Younger, The Alchemist, ca. 1600, Oil on oak panel, 36 ¾ x 48 x 3 in. framed; 27 1/6 x 37 ¾ x 5/8 in. canvas, 2020.25.1

Alfredo Ramos, Vendedoras de Frutas (Fruit Vendors), ca. 1937, Fresco mounted on Celotex, 31 x 24 in. image; 41 ¼ x 34 ¼ x 2 9/16 in. 2021.37.1

Yinka Shonibare, Crash Willy, 2009, Cotton, leather, fiberglass, and metal, 52 ½ x 61 x 97 in. 2017.5.1a-n

N.C. Wyeth, "Slag was a figure for sculptors," illustration for "The Mild-Mannered Man," Everybody's Magazine, vol. 40, January 1919, Oil on canvas, 41 ¾ x 31 ¾ x 1 ¾ in. framed; 39 ¼ x 29 ¼ x 1 ½ in. canvas, 2020.87.1

Shepard Fairey and Ernesto Yerena, Immigration Reform Now, 2010, Stencil, silkscreen, and collage on canvas, 60 ¼ x 44 ¼ x 2 in. 2019.65.1

Ralph McQuarrie, Artoo and Threepio leave the pod in the desert, production art for Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, January 31, 1975, Acrylic and gouache on illustration board, 18 x 28 x 3/8 in. matted; 13 ¼ x 23 in. sheet; 8 x 16 ¼ in. image, 2013.005241

Henri Cartier-Bresson, A farewell service for the late actor Danjuro held on November 13, 1965, at the Aoyama Funeral Hall, Tokyo, according to Shinto rites, 1965; printed ca. 1990s, Gelatin silver print, 9 ½ x 14 ¼ in. image; 12 x 15 15/16 in. sheet, 2020.30.1

George Herriman, Krazy Kat Sunday Comic Strip, January 18, 1923, Ink and graphite pencil on Bristol board, 21 x 19 in. image; 23 ¼ x 19 ½ in. 2019.19.1

Miguel Covarrubias, Rumba, 1942, Lithograph, 9 ½ x 13 5/8 in. image; 11 ¼ x 15 ½ in. sheet, 2020.8.7

Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia, Black Panther #6 cover, 1997, Ink over graphite on Bristol board, 16 ¾ x 11 3/8 in. image, 2020.20.9

Criselda Vasquez, The New American Gothic, 2017, Oil on canvas, 72 x 48 x 1 ¼ in. canvas, 2021.14.1

Poster for St. Louis Blues, 1929, ink on paper, 41 x 27 in. (104.1 x 68.6 cm), Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Los Angeles

Frida Kahlo, Autorretrato dedicado al Dr. Eloesser (Self-Portrait Dedicated to Dr. Eloesser), 1940, Oil on Masonite, 34 x 26 x 3 ½ in. framed, 2020.50.1

Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Byoutsuchi Sonritsu (Sun Li), 1827-1830, Oban woodblock print, 14 15/16 x 10 7/16 in. sheet, 2020.47.1

Jeffrey Catherine Jones, Cover for Star Hunter and Voodoo Planet, 1968, Acrylic on board, 29 13/16 x 19 15/16 in. board; 25 ½ x 15 ¼ in. image, 2019.53.7

Robert Colescott, George Washington Carver Crossing the Delaware: Page from an American History Textbook, 1975, Acrylic on canvas, 79 ¼ x 99 x 3 in. framed; 78 ½ x 98 ¼ in. canvas, 2021.45.1

Charles White, Study for Mary McLeod Bethune, mural for the Los Angeles Public Library, 1977-78, Acrylic on illustration board, 27 7/8 x 36 7/16 in. board; 21 1/8 x 29 5/8 in. image, 2019.8.1

Kadir Nelson, Art Connoisseurs, cover for The New Yorker, December 2, 2019, Oil on panel, 74 x 64 x 4 ½ in. framed; 60 x 50 x 1 ½ in. canvas, 2020.11.4

Jessie Willcox Smith, "The Sewing Lesson", cover for Collier's, vol 40, no. 14, December 28, 1907, Watercolor, gouache and charcoal on board, 21 x 17 ¼ in. board, 2018.2.2

Jacob Lawrence, Good People Gave Them Food To Eat and a Chance to Rest Their Weary Feet,” illustration for Harriet and the Promised Land, 1967, Gouache and tempera on paper, 14 ½ x 13 in. image; 17 ¾ x 14 5/8 in. sheet; 23 1/16 x 21 5/8 x 7/8 in. framed, 2018.48.1

Paul Cadmus, The Haircut, 1986, Egg tempera on fiberboard, 21 x 19 in. board; 27 ¼ x 25 ¼ x 2 in. framed; 20 ½ x 17 7/8 in. image, 2021.10.1

Carrie Mae Weems, Untitled, (Outtake from the Kitchen Table Series), 1990-1992, Gelatin silver print, 27 1/8 x 26 7/8 in. image; 27 ¼ x 27 in. board, 2018.9.2

Norman Rockwell, Shuffleton's Barbershop, cover for The Saturday​ Evening Post, April 29, 1950​​, Oil on canvas, 46 ¼ x 43 ¼ in.; 51 ½ x 48 ¾ in. framed, 2018.10.1

A Collection
Made of Stories

The Lucas Museum’s foundational collection, shaped and funded by founders George Lucas and Mellody Hobson, has works by illustrators like Norman Rockwell, Jessie Willcox Smith, Maxfield Parrish, and N. C. Wyeth; comic artists like Winsor McCay, Frank Frazetta, George Herriman, Jack Kirby, and Robert Crumb; muralists such as Judith F. Baca and Diego Rivera; as well as other artists like Frida Kahlo, Jacob Lawrence, Charles White, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, and Robert Colescott. The museum also holds film archives, including the entire Historic Lucasfilm Archives and the Separate Cinema Archive.
Background Image

Judith F. Baca, final coloration for 1950: The Development of Suburbia, for The Great Wall of Los Angeles, 1983, Judith F. Baca/Image courtesy ofthe SPARC Archives (SPARCinLA.org)