The grand opening of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art marks a milestone in George Lucas' life's work since selling Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012.

As visitors step into the palace, they'll be greeted The mission is to take the work of populist painters, commercial illustrators, comic artists, and paperback cover-creators and treat it with reverence normally reserved for Rembrandts.

"that's really what mission is,"

"That's really what the mission is," says museum CEO Tracey Bates, who joined the project in 2020. "There are these incredibly familiar pieces that have not had the opportunity to be platformed in this manner, to be placed like this, to be curated in this way, for people to really see the genius behind it."

The building opens to the public on September 22, and its 82-year-old founder made an unannounced appearance at a media preview day with his wife, businesswoman Mellody Hobson, co-founder of the museum.

"I couldn't believe the place now exists after being conceived 17 years ago and having been 'kicked out' of proposed locations in cities like San Francisco and Chicago," Lucas said, wearing a T-shirt that read "Dedicated to the people's art."

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Part of the problem is that he's a contrarian who doesn't like to do things people think can be done. He's used to doing the impossible," he added.

Visitors will be greeted "

"Star Wars" only occupies 7% of the museum, according to Bates. The CEO and her staff are now focused on spreading the word about all it has to offer.

Nearly everything in the vast museum comes from the personal collection of Lucas or his wife, Mellody Hobson, a major collector of African-American art.

The filmmaker began collecting original comic art from newspaper strips like "Alley Oop" when he was in college and it could be had for pocket change. As blockbuster money started rolling in, he started buying paintings from commercial artists, including Norman Rockwell and Maxfield Parrish.

"He's one of the greatest storytellers of our lifetime," says Bates, who sits in the gallery devoted to Rockwell. "I mean the level of nuance and depth in a Rockwell, I get lost in them constantly."

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Senior curator Ryan Linkof tells a similar story about growing to love the work of Parrish, another painter and commercial illustrator whose imagery helped define the 20th century.

The museum has its share of higher-brow artists too, with work from Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Andy Warhol. If it tells a story, it has a place.

"For me, it's like a cloud or like a tree canopy that's floating above you," Ma says. "It feels formless almost. But you want to discover.

So you have to start a journey. You have to start to walk around."