In recognition of their mutual appreciation for California’s rich art legacy, the Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University and the Festival of Arts’ world-renowned Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach have come together in a unique 2025 collaboration. This alliance is designed to celebrate the extraordinary influence and scope of California art and the world-class museums and institutions throughout the Golden State that showcase it.
Plans include specially priced Pageant of the Masters tickets for Hilbert Museum followers, a joint panel discussion on June 4, a dedicated ‘Hilbert Night’ at the Pageant on July 9, and unique social media and PR efforts highlighting both institutions’ ongoing contributions to the California art scene.
The alliance was inspired by the 2025 Pageant of the Masters theme, “Gold Coast: Treasures of California,” a road-trip-like exploration of some of the most notable paintings, sculptures and other masterpieces on view in California, as well as the five works selected from the Hilbert Museum collection for this year’s show, which runs July 5 – August 29, 2025.
The five selected Hilbert Collection works – Phil Dike’s Afternoon at Diver’s Cove; Lee Blair’s Mary by the Sea; Bradford J. Salamon’s dual oil works Monday at the Crab Cooker and Seal Beach Nighthawks; and the Millard Sheets mosaic Pleasures Along the Beach – make the Hilbert Museum the most prolific art institution in the show along with the Hearst Castle in San Simeon and Dana Point’s Waterman’s Plaza.
“The Hilbert Museum of California Art has been recognized with many significant honors over the years – but to receive this level of endorsement from the Pageant is especially rewarding considering the number of premier California museums amassing world-class collections and doing such amazing work,” said Mary Platt, the museum’s director. “We are humbled to play a role in this year’s show and to add the Hilbert Museum and Chapman University to the pantheon of art institutions being honored throughout the Golden State.”
“Our hope is that this partnership might help grow the current California art renaissance while honoring past, present and future artists from the Golden State,” said Mark Hilbert, who with his late wife Janet founded the Hilbert Museum in 2016. “We’d also love to make it possible for more Hilbert Museum followers, especially our amazing docents and the Chapman University community, to discover the one-of-the-kind spectacle of the Pageant of the Masters.”
According to Diane Challis Davy, director of the Pageant of the Masters, it was a trip to the Hilbert Museum in 2024 that helped inspire her and her team to dedicate the 2025 Pageant theme to reminding Californians about the wealth of masterpiece-caliber paintings, sculptures and other works available for view in their home state.
“I was invited by Mark Hilbert to visit his museum spring of ‘24. He personally showed me around the galleries, extolling me with stories and personal connections to the art and artists. It was a day I will never forget, as it brought back memories of my father’s art gallery, Challis Galleries, in Laguna Beach,” said Davy. “So many of the artists represented in the Hilbert’s collection were people I knew and admired in the 1960’s through the 80’s. I was so impressed by the welcoming atmosphere of the Hilbert Museum. It’s quite unlike any other!”
The Festival of Arts is extending a 20% discount on all nights of the 2025 Pageant of the Masters to Hilbert Museum e-newsletter recipients and will host a “Hilbert Museum Night at the Pageant” on Wednesday, July 9 for museum docents, staff and supporters wanting to enjoy the show together.
Adding to the pre-Pageant excitement, Challis Davy and Mark Hilbert will participate in “Pageant of the Masters and California Art: The Hilbert Connection,” a June 4 panel discussion at the Hilbert Museum moderated by Mary Platt. Part of the museum’s ongoing lecture series, the hour-long conversation will explore the history of both institutions, what goes into planning of the show, and the stories behind this year’s Pageant theme and the Hilbert Collection works selected for the Pageant. Admission to the discussion is $10 and tickets are expected to sell-out in advance
Several social media and PR collaborations honoring the alliance are planned, including one focused on Bradford Salamon’s Monday at the Crab Cooker, which depicts Salamon, Mark Hilbert and Gordon McClelland at the Newport Beach restaurant discussing plans for a future Hilbert Museum.
Those wanting to take advantage of the Pageant ticket discount or attend the July 9 “Hilbert Night at the Pageant” or June 4 panel discussion are advised to visit https://hilbertmuseum.org/join-our-email-list to join the Hilbert Museum e-newsletter list for the latest updates and event ticketing links as they become available.
The Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University recently completed a multiyear expansion that tripled the gallery and other space available for the 5,000-piece Hilbert Collection, considered one of the world’s preeminent collections of California narrative art, and Hollywood studio and movie art. The museum reopened in Feb. 2024 as a stunning, 22,000-sq.-ft., two-building complex on the edge of the Chapman University campus, immediately opposite the Orange Metrolink station.
All five Hilbert Collection works being re-created during this year’s Pageant are currently on view at the museum. Sheets’ 40-ft. x 16-foot Pleasures Along the Beach, which was rescued by Mark Hilbert from a Home Savings & Loan in Santa Monica in 2019, restored and incorporated into the museum’s façade during its recent renovation, occupies the coveted spot in this year’s Pageant immediately before the iconic finale featuring Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper.
For details on Hilbert Museum exhibitions and events, visit www.hilbertmuseum.org.
For information on the 2025 Festival of the Arts and Pageant of the Masters, and to purchase Pageant tickets, visit www.foapom.com.