About – Laguna Art Museum

01

Museum Timeline

Our Journey

1918

1929

1972

1986

2013

2018

1918

Anna Hills, Edgar Payne, and other artists formed the Laguna Beach Art Association (LBAA) with a purpose “to advance the knowledge of and interest in Art, and to create a spirit of cooperation and fellowship between the painter and the public.”

1929

Following a successful fundraising drive led by Anna Hills, the LBAA opened a grand, custom-built gallery designed by the well-known Los Angeles architect Myron Hunt. This survives as the Steele Gallery within the present museum building.

1972

With the growth of a permanent collection of donated works and the beginnings of a program of loan exhibitions, the LBAA’s gallery took on some of the characteristics of a museum and became the Laguna Beach Museum of Art.

1986

The museum changed its name to Laguna Art Museum and a physical expansion that completed the building as it now stands added galleries, public spaces, and staff offices.

2013

The museum established Art & Nature, an annual event with special exhibitions, a commissioned outdoor work of art, lectures, panel discussions, films, and family activities on the theme of art’s engagement with the natural world.

2018

The museum celebrates the centennial of the founding of the LBAA and continues to collect and show California art, offer art education programs, and serve the community as a cultural and social center with programs in music, dance, and film as well as the visual arts.

02

Annual Report

100 Years Forward

View the museum’s annual report to learn about our collections, exhibitions, education and public programs, operations, financials, and more.

Our Mission

Laguna Art Museum exists to enlighten and engage people of all ages through art that embodies and preserves the California experience.

About Us

Laguna Art Museum is the museum of California art. It collects, cares for, and exhibits works of art that were created by California artists or represent the life and history of the state. Unlike any other museum in the state, it collects California art and only California art, and ranges across all periods and styles, nineteenth-century to present-day.

Our Principles

Laguna Art Museum believes that the artists of California have created works of the highest quality and significance. An artistic center throughout its history, Laguna Beach is a natural home for the premier museum of California art.

Our Goals

Laguna Art Museum seeks to develop a permanent collection that represents the rich history of California art; stage serious exhibitions of high artistic quality that complement the collection; offer a robust education program for children, students, and adults alike; and serve the community as a cultural and social center.

03

Museum Staff

Meet Our Team

Executive Director

Julie Perlin Lee

Julie Perlin Lee joined LAM as Executive Director in May 2021. Previously she was Executive Director at the Catalina Island Museum, and Vice President of Collections and Exhibition Development at the Bowers Museum.

At Catalina Island Museum from 2016 to 2021, Lee led a period of growth including high-profile exhibitions and educational programs, and the completion of a capital project for the museum’s new permanent facility which opened in 2016. At the Bowers Museum from 2008 to 2016, she procured acquisitions for the museum’s permanent collection, directed research and preservation, organized exhibitions, and contributed to publications. She holds a BA in Art History, MFA in Exhibition Design, and Certificate in Museum Studies from California State University, Fullerton.

Registrar

Tim Campbell

Membership and Database Manager

Madeline Roth-Scofield

Event Coordinator

Blythe Callanan-Wheaton

Public Programs Coordinator

Daniel Stachowski

Marketing Coordinator

Ryan Tuffnell

Executive Assistant to the Director

Sabina Vitale

Collections and Registration Assistant

Alex Theologidy