A ruddy-faced Santa riding in a sleigh. Snowfall over a quiet town with a frozen lake, prime for ice skating. Majestic reindeer.
There is certain imagery associated with the holiday season, and the Hilbert Museum of California Art in Old Town Orange has curated a collection of festive art that puts yuletide cheer in the spotlight.
“At Christmas, we are able to showcase some of our brightest, most popular works from Disney, Chuck Jones and other artists forever linked to the holiday season,” said Hilbert Museum director, Mary Platt.
“Happy Holidays: Selections from the Hilbert Christmas Collection” features works by Norman Rockwell, Ralph Hulett , Chuck Jones and various Disney artists in Orange.
(Sarah Mosqueda)
“Happy Holidays: Selections from the Hilbert Christmas Collection” is on view in the Burra Family community room, along with a Christmas tree, now through Jan. 11 and includes holiday paintings, prints, illustrations, movie art and vintage Christmas card designs.
Curated by Platt, the exhibition of selected works from the Hilbert Collection features pieces from Norman Rockwell, Gladys Brown Edwards, Greg Hildebrandt and Ralph Hulett, a personal favorite of museum founders Mark Hilbert and his wife, Janet, and the subject of last year’s holiday show, “Merry and Bright: Christmas Card Designs by Ralph Hulett.”
Hulett worked on Disney’s very first full-length animated feature “Snow White” in 1937, but not as an animator. He specialized in scenery and backgrounds, and the show includes one of his illustrations of a moonlit winter forest with the silhouette of two dainty deer visible among the tree trunks.
“Many of the artists working at Disney, they did Christmas cards as a side gig,” Mark Hilbert said.
Christmas art work from the likes of Norman Rockwell, Ralph Hulett, Gladys, Chuck Jones and various Disney artists on display in Orange.
(Sarah Mosqueda)
The show also features a hyperrealistic Santa Clause from Greg Hildebrandt who, along with his brother Tim Hildebrandt, received recognition in the fantasy and science fiction world for epic illustrations.
“Hildebrandt was affiliated with ‘Lord of the Rings,’ because for years he and his brother did the annual official J.R.R. Tolkien calendar,” said Platt. “He paints in this very clear, very realistic style, even with fantasy figures, which is why the fantasy fans all love the Hildebrandt look.”
“Happy Holidays” also contains original art from Disney’s “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” and Chuck Jones’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”
“The original Grinch film is a master work, and it was a combination of Chuck Jones and Dr. Seuss,” Hilbert said. “You have two geniuses working on the production, and the level of creativity in this picture is just off the charts.”
A pencil sketch of the Grinch from 1966 is displayed alongside its full-color celluloid counterpart. There is also a Christmas illustration from Dr. Seuss’ children’s book, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” the original source material for the animated film. The book’s 1957 ink work depicts a sleigh stuffed with fully decorated Christmas trees, gifts and wreaths careening down a hill with Max the dog bringing up the rear.
A Grinch animation celluloid on view at the Hilbert Musuem in Orange.
(Courtesy of the Hilbert Museum of California Art)
“Happy Holidays” is just one of several new exhibitions on view at the Hilbert Museum.
“Banking on a Dream: Bank of America, the Disney Movies and the Birth of Disneyland” showcases Bank of America’s Centennial in Orange County and its historical support for Walt Disney’s films. Hilbert noted the bank was an original corporate sponsor of Disneyland and had a branch on Main Street U.S.A. at the 1955 opening of the theme park. There are illustrated Bank of America advertisements featuring Disneyland and old deposit slips from the park’s branch.
Another exhibit, “The Magic of Sesame Street,” celebrates original paintings and drawings from Sesame Street Magazine, while “Spirits of Earth and Fire: Pueblo Pottery from the Hilbert Collection” focuses on Indigenous potters from the pueblos of the Southwest.
A painting of C-3PO from the “Star Wars” franchise by Bradford Salamon greets visitors at the entrance.
(Sarah Mosqueda)
Eight galleries in the North Building are dedicated to showcasing a rotating selection of oil and watercolor paintings, prints and drawings of California art from the permanent collection. A life-sized oil on canvas of C-3PO from the “Star Wars” franchise by local artist Bradford Salamon greets museum visitors at the entrance.
The painting is a nod to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, founded by George Lucas and Mellody Hobson and scheduled to open on Sept. 22, 2026 in Los Angeles. The Hilbert Museum looks forward to collaborating with the new museum in the future.
“When that’s open, we hope to partner with them. Even with that huge museum, [Lucas] can’t show everything he has, just as we can’t show everything we have, ” Platt said.
“Happy Holidays: Selections from the Hilbert Christmas Collection” is on view at the Hilbert Museum of California Art at 167 N. Atchison St. in Orange through Jan. 11. For details about all current exhibitions, visit hilbertmuseum.org.
