At Home with Anne Hubbell

Story and Photography by Visiting Artist Fellow, Marshall Williams

I’m standing in the kitchen with my camera set on a tripod. Luis Garcia and I have scouted out the shots we hope to make. A car pulls up, and before long I am being introduced to Anne Hubbell, her kind blue eyes set off by the blue dress that matches the tile and stemware of her kitchen. She is surrounded by her son Torrey, her niece and her daughter-in-law as they lovingly apply lip stick and fix her hair. Anne is beaming, she is 99 years old. 

A musician, a dancer, the mother of 4 boys, she is also the wife of renowned artist James Hubbell. I had the privilege of spending an afternoon with her in the home that she and James built on a oak tree covered hilltop between Julian and Santa Ysabel. Their home and studios, Ilan-Lael, have become world renowned for its organic structures and design. Although she hasn’t lived here for a few years, she visits frequently.  Before the day was over she would pose for me in her kitchen, dance and sing with her son, become forlorn at the lunch table while thinking of her late husband James, (we all felt his presence)—all the while with a radiance and grace that has left me in awe. 

The 2026 Visiting Artist Program is a collective of seven artists: Helen Shafter Garcia, Rose Irelan, Vicki Leon, Aline Mare, Willy Nicholas, Vira Ustianska, and Marshall Williams. A group exhibition will be on exhibition at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library in La Jolla January 16 – April 3rd 2027. Opening Reception and Panel Discussion held on January 15th. The 2026 Visiting Artist Program offers year-round hands-on workshops held at the Ilan-Lael Foundation.