Art can serve as a window to the past. This is particularly true for narrative paintings that tell a story or capture a scene of everyday life. Through the years, a large number of California artists have shared this vision of producing narrative art.

The collection assembled by Mark and Janet Hilbert focuses on California art, specifically, works that capture important historical and cultural scenes relating to California. The Hilbert Collection includes art from nearly all periods of the twentieth century, but primarily features works created by the most innovative California Scene painters from the 1930s to 1970s.

Gordon T. McClelland, Curator

Image:

Millard Sheets

"San Dimas Train Station"

1933

Watercolor on paper

Hilbert Collection