Originally opened in 2016 and expanded to its current size in 2024, the Hilbert Museum of California Art currently fills two Chapman University buildings with one of the region’s most impressive collections of paintings and drawings – including exhibits rivaling OCMA in Costa Mesa. Roughly 10 themed exhibition areas cover subjects ranging from Californian landscapes and waterfront scenes to the work of California-based artists and even meaningful examples of commercial art. On our first visit, the gallery spotlighted Bank of America’s collaborations on building Disneyland, backing multiple versions of It’s A Small World, and financing Disney’s earliest animated movies, as well as items from its collection of 60,000 works from well- and little-known artists. Another exhibit spotlighted a first-of-kind collaboration between California museums and Laguna Beach’s famous Pageant of the Masters event, set for July 2025.
It’s a testament to the Hilbert Museum’s incredible quality that all of the exhibits were worth seeing, with enough unique pieces to fill 1.5 to 2 hours of exploration: Even the hallway leading to one building’s restrooms houses a curated collection of surf movie posters that’s more eye-catching than several of the smaller gallery spaces we’ve visited. That said, almost all of the collection on display when we visited was two-dimensional; a single-gallery pottery exhibition and a small but colorful collection of vintage 1940’s to 1960’s radios were the only exceptions. Admission is free with an advance reservation, and parking is available in a lot immediately next to the buildings.
