The Hollywood Producer/Director George Lucas creator of the Star Wars franchise has announced that he intends to open a museum dedicated to Illustration. The proposed building site is located in San Francisco’s Presidio National Park, a former military base, overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge.
Lucas, who early in his career wanted to be an illustrator, stated in an interview that he started collecting comic book art, when he was still in college and then worked his way up to own some of the iconic examples of illustration art, including pieces by Norman Rockwell, Maxfield Parrish and N.C. Wyeth.
A proposal has been submitted to the Presidio Trust and it currently appears on their website. It competes along with 16 other proposals for usage of the space but has a good chance of making it to the final, due to the commitment of funding by the Hollywood legend.
The Presidio Trust announced that it received 16 concept proposals for repurposing a stunning site on Crissy Field ; “We are encouraged with the number and quality of responses and look forward to engaging the public and evaluating concepts over the coming months,” said Craig Middleton, the Trust’s executive director. “Finding a new purpose for this incomparable site clearly has stirred the imaginations of teams from around the country.”
The former Commissary site has unobstructed views of San Francisco Bay, the Marin Headlands, and the Golden Gate Bridge. The Presidio Parkway, which replaces the 1937 Doyle Drive, will be finished in 2016. Once completed, the site will become the dramatic intersection of Crissy Field and a new bluff that connects the Presidio’s Main Post to the waterfront.
Lucas says; “I want to create a gathering place where children, parents, and grandparents can experience everything from the great illustrators such as Rockwell, N.C. Wyeth and Maxfield Parrish, to comic art and children’s book illustrations along with exhibitions of fashion, cinematic arts, and digital art. The Bay Area was the birthplace of digital arts three decades ago.”