North Wing Galleries - California Art from The Permanent Collection February 23, 2024 -
Curated by Gordon T. McClelland

Eight galleries in the North Wing of The Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University are dedicated to showcasing the vast variety of oil and watercolor paintings, prints and drawings in The Hilbert Collection, from the late 1800s through today.

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The Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University presented this exhibition in the Sodaro South WIng.

Emil Kosa Jr. (1903-1968) was a prominent California fine art painter and a key figure in the development of special effects art for the Hollywood motion picture industry during the 1940s, ‘50s, and ‘60s. His unique special effects paintings, created while he headed the art department at Twentieth Century-Fox Studios, earned him an Oscar for the movie Cleopatra. His matte painting of the Statue of Liberty sunk in the sand during the finale of Planet of the Apes is considered the most famous matte shot in movie history. Concurrently, Kosa produced fine-art paintings, primarily using watercolors and oil paints. His prolific output of high-quality art surpassed that of many full-time painters. This exhibition presents more than 40 of Kosa’s fine art pieces—watercolors, oils and drawings, from landscapes to genre scenes to portraits, all selected from The Hilbert Collection.

Gordon McClelland gave an illustrated lecture on this exhibition in the Sodaro South Wing on Saturday, August 9, 2025, beginning at 6:00pm.

General Admission: $10 / Chapman students, faculty and staff: Free

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The Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University presented 21st Century Realism by California Artists in North Wing Galleries. Each artist chosen for this exhibition from The Hilbert Collection developed a very personal and identifiable style, even though all are working in the genres of realism, photorealism or hyper-realism. Note that several of these realist genres were pioneered by California artists.

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The Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University presented Picturing Paradise: The Art of California Orange Box Labels in the James L. and Lynne P. Doti Gallery of American Illustration. This exhibition featured colorful crate labels dating from the 1880s to 1955 that depict Southern California as a land of flirty Spanish senoritas and picturesque haciendas which helped not only to sell oranges, but to promote the notion of "paradise found."

Gordon McClelland gave an illustrated lecture on labels in this exhibition and their artists in the Burra Family Community Room at the Museum on Saturday, January 18, 2025, beginning at 6:00pm.

General Admission: $10 / Chapman students, faculty and staff: Free

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The Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University presented this exhibition in North Wing Galleries.

As you travel around Orange County today, you might wonder: what did this county look like 20, 50 or 100 years ago? What type of events were taking place in Orange County during that time, and what types of cultural changes were developing? What did the farmland, downtown sections and beach communities look like then?

This exhibition is the first in a series of planned exhibitions that seek to use paintings, graphics and ephemera to help give you an idea of what it was like “back then.” The paintings were selected not only for their merit as exceptional works of art, but also for their unique ability to capture the look and feel of specific time periods in Orange County history.

The ephemera reflect some cultural movements that began or flourished in OC during the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, including the development of surf culture, the rock music scene, hippie culture, the Jesus People movement and the punk rock scene.

A few items representing the citrus industry, sailing at Newport Beach and the Laguna art community are included in both the painting and ephemera presentations.

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The Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University presented this exhibition in South Wing Galleries.

The early 20th century witnessed a transformative shift in the art world as modernism swept across various artistic movements. In California, a unique fusion of regional identity and modernist influences gave rise to what is now known as California Scene painting. This art movement emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, reflecting the dynamic interplay between local landscapes, social realities, and the avant-garde principles of modernism.

The debut of the “A MATTER OF STYLE: Modernism in California Art” exhibition as part of the Hilbert Museum’s expansion grand opening lineup creates a unique opportunity for visitors to experience this artistic shift.

Rooted in realism, the movement sought to capture the diverse landscapes and everyday life in California, from urban scenes to rural settings, many of which resonate with today’s museum visitors.

California’s diverse landscapes, ranging from the majestic coastline to arid deserts and fertile valleys, are featured as key subjects by California Scene painters. They moved beyond traditional pastoral scenes to depict the changing face of the Golden State, capturing the effects of industrialization and urbanization. The bustling streets of Los Angeles, the agricultural richness of the Central Valley, and the unique coastal vistas all found their way onto these artists’ canvases.

The California Scene movement was driven by a group of pioneering artists who sought to break free from the constraints of academic traditions and explore new ways of expressing their artistic visions. Among the notable figures on view in this exhibition are Stanton MacDonald-Wright, Susan Hertel, Helen Lundeberg, Lorser Feitelson, Agnes Pelton, Rex Brandt, Keith Crown, Conrad Buff, Millard Sheets, Edward Reep, Karl Kasten and others.

General Admission: $10 / Chapman students, faculty and staff: Free
Location: Sodaro South Galleries, Hilbert Museum of California Art

Gordon T. McClelland spoke about works currently on view at the Hilbert Museum in the exhibitions he curated: “A Matter of Style: Modernism in California Art,” “Same Place, Another Time: Views of Orange County,” and paintings and prints in the Permanent Collection galleries.

McClelland is the author of many books on 20th-century California art, including “California Scene Paintings,” “California Watercolors,” “Millard Sheets: The Early Years,” “Emil Kosa Jr.,” “George Post” and many more. All his books are on sale at the Hilbert Museum, and he signed books after the talk, which was about 45 minutes long, with slides, and time for audience Q&A afterwards.