Nearly two years ago now, word broke that Walt Disney Pictures would be acquiring George Lucas’ Lucasfilm, Ltd. for $4 billion. Of course, that deal resulted in the now-filming Star Wars: Episode VII, but it also arrived with the announcement that Lucas would use a portion of the money from the sale to build a museum. Today, The Chicago Tribune reveals that Lucas has chosen the Windy City as the future home of what will be known as The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art!
Although both San Francisco and Los Angeles were also vying to be the home of the new museum, Chicago, the birthplace of Lucas’ wife, Mellody Hobson, won out. The facility will be housed between Soldier Field and McCormick Place with Lucas spending $700 million to make the place a reality.
Choosing Chicago is the right decision for the museum,” says Lucas. “but a difficult decision for me personally because of my strong personal and professional roots in the Bay Area.”
The museum, which will display everything from Norman Rockwell paintings to the original Millennium Falcon model, offers the following mission statement:
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art will be a gathering place to experience narrative art and the evolution of moving images from illustration to cinema to the digital mediums of the future. The museums seed collection a gift from founder George Lucas spans a century-and-a-half and features the images and the mediums that have profoundly shaped our cultural heritage. The foundational collection will continue to grow and evolve as the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art acquires more works.
The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is planned to open in 2018.
(Photo Credit: FayesVision / WENN.com)
