Star Wars Creator George Lucas Donates $1.5 Million to Norman Rockwell Museum

Photo by Joey Gannon on Flickr/Creative Commons

George Lucas: avant garde filmmaker, creator of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, and… Norman Rockwell enthusiast?

The George Lucas Family Foundation made a $1.5 million donation to the iconic painter’s eponymous museum in Stockbridge, presumably after curators turned down 20,000 Republic credits.

“This is a truly transformational grant,” Norman Rockwell Museum director Laurie Norton Moffatt said in a release. “We are deeply grateful to George Lucas for supporting our commitment to students, teachers, and life-long learners everywhere, connecting them with Norman Rockwell’s legacy in new and compelling ways.”

Lucas’ grant will enable the museum’s digital learning and engagement division to develop new multimedia experiences for visitors, including augmented reality technology (think Pokemon Go), a “comprehensive online media hub” with podcasts and lectures, and traveling exhibitions.

The 72-year-old director, who sold the rights to Star Wars to Disney for more than $4 billion in 2012, is an avid collector of Rockwell’s works, the museum says.