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
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
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.
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)