Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opens with 300,000-sq-ft space and diverse collection
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opened on Sept. 22, offering 300,000 square feet of galleries, a park, a rooftop restaurant and a library, with admission set at $25 for adults.
George Lucas and Mellody Hobson opened the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art on Sept. 22, unveiling a 300,000-square-foot facility on 11 acres of landscaped grounds in downtown Los Angeles. The museum houses more than 1,300 works ranging from historic paintings to comic strips and film memorabilia, including a 1940 Frida Kahlo self-portrait that the museum’s director called the “Mona Lisa of Mexico.”
Visitors can access the galleries via glass-tube elevators that rise to a fourth-floor viewing platform, then explore murals, a rooftop Skywalker Grill, and a public library containing over 3,000 art books. The library, open without a ticket, features a collection donated by actor Steve Martin and offers views of the surrounding garden.
The outdoor campus, designed by Mia Lehrer’s Studio-MLA, includes a hanging garden, a waterfall that cools the building, and several sculptures such as a Botero mother-and-child piece and bronze figures of Princess Leia and Yoda. A reservation is required for the restaurant, which serves California-sourced American cuisine and operates beyond museum hours.
“Is it fine art? It’s finer art because it’s actually telling a story,” Lucas said at a recent museum party.
Admission is $25 for adults and free for children. A $30 exhibition catalog is available in the gift shop.