George Lucas in Museums

George Lucas is one of the first filmmakers to recognize museum exhibitions as an important source of fan participation and as an extension of the Star Wars brand with exhibitions of props, costumes, and concept art traveling the world. Lucas is also an important collector of "art that tells a story," or narrative art. This chapter explores the history and goals of this two-pronged approach to museums and exhibitions. From the first Lucasfilm exhibition of props, costumes and concept art from Star Wars to Lucas's collection of the iconic American illustrators Norman Rockwell and Maxfield Parrish, the chapter summarizes Lucas's contributions to museums and to visual storytelling. In particular, it details the difficulties that he has had to overcome in the art world with the founding of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, scheduled to open in 2023.