Hilbert Museum of California Art

One of Orange County’s most beloved summer traditions—the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach—is shining its footlights on Chapman University’s Hilbert Museum of California Art this year.  In a unique and thrilling collaboration, the Pageant will present five works from the museum’s acclaimed collection as part of its 2025 show, “Gold Coast: Treasures of California,” transforming paintings into their signature “living pictures,” or tableaux vivants.

The Pageant’s homage to the Hilbert Museum includes a remarkable lineup of artworks, including two by famed California Scene painters, Phil Dike and Lee Blair, as well as two contemporary urban realist paintings by Southern California artist Bradford J. Salamon.  Audiences will also see a dramatic staging of “Pleasures Along the Beach”, the iconic 40-foot-long Millard Sheets glass mosaic that adorns the west façade of the Hilbert Museum itself.

California Art aficionados can also enjoy a special “Hilbert Night” at the Pageant on July 9, when museum founder Mark Hilbert will appear onstage as himself—recreating his image from Salamon’s painting “Monday at the Crab Cooker,” which captures Hilbert, Salamon and California art writer and curator Gordon McClelland enjoying a relaxed lunch “under the shark” at the famed Newport Beach eatery.  The three often met there in the years leading up to Hilbert’s founding of his namesake museum at Chapman, to discuss California art and history and to dream about an eventual museum.

“I’m both honored and amused!” says Mark Hilbert.  “I never imagined that a painting including me would end up recreated live in front of thousands of people—and that I’d get into costume and makeup to be part of it myself!  It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I’m grateful to the Pageant for making it possible, and to Bradford for creating such a meaningful and fun work.”

“Monday at the Crab Cooker” is one of five Hilbert Museum-owned works included in this summer’s Pageant.  The others are Salamon’s moody nocturne “Seal Beach Nighthawks,” Dike’s luminous watercolor “Afternoon at Diver’s Cove,”, and Lee Blair’s “Mary by the Sea,” which depicts his fiancée Mary Robinson.  She would become Mary Blair, one of Disney’s most famous artists, who designed the look and feel of “Alice in Wonderland,” “Peter Pan” and It’s a Small World.

Bradford Salamon, who has several works featured in this year’s Pageant—including “Marine Room”, a new painting of the interior of the beloved tavern in Laguna Beach commissioned specially for the event—is equally enthusiastic.  “The Pageant is such a beautiful tribute to art and history,” he says.  “It’s an honor to have my work included, and especially meaningful to know that pieces I created for the Hilbert Collection are helping to tell the story of California through this incredible live performance.”

Hilbert Museum Director Mary Platt calls the collaboration “a wonderful meeting of two Orange County cultural treasures.  We are thrilled to have the Hilbert Museum’s art so prominently featured at this year’s Pageant of the Masters,” she says.  “To see these beloved works come to life onstage—with such artistry and theatrical magic—is deeply moving.  We’re very grateful to Pageant Artistic Director Diane Challis Davy and her entire talented staff and crew for making this a reality. And of course, we’re so excited for Mark to get his star turn!”

Visitors can view all four of the Hilbert paintings selected for the Pageant in a special display now on view in the North Gallery of the museum.  And the enormous Millard Sheets mosaic, which will serve as the Pageant’s penultimate tableau this summer, is on permanent public view—gracing the museum’s exterior wall facing Atchison Street.

Tickets to the Pageant of the Masters, running nightly through August 30 at the Irvine Bowl in Laguna Beach, and including “Hilbert Night” on July 9, are available at www.FOAPOM.com or by calling 800-487-3378.

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The Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University is located at 167 North Atchison St. in Old Towne, across from the train station. The museum is open Tue-Sat 10 am to 5 pm, and admission is free. To save time checking in, pre-register online at www.HilbertMuseum.org.  More information: 714-516-5880 during open hours. 

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The museum seeks volunteer docents on Sundays for 3-hour shifts.  Email [email protected] with the subject line “Sunday docent” to inquire.