Looking IN at the Life and Work of Hank Pitcher

Looking IN at the
Life and Work of
Hank Pitcher

Iconic Painter Takes On
The Miramar Affair in His Latest Exhibit
at Santa Barbara’s Sullivan Goss Gallery

By Roger Durling | Photos by Ingrid Bostrom
March 13, 2025

Since I wrote a cover story about Hank Pitcher in 2017, one of the richest experiences of my life in Santa Barbara has unfolded — perhaps more satisfying than anything I’ve ever experienced during my tenure in our beloved city. I regularly show up to Hank’s studio to admire his work, but primarily to talk about art. The conversations are never small talk — we often pick up where we left off, doing deep dives about art, literature, and film, and that’s why I cherish them. 

Many martinis are consumed. We speak about the influences in our lives: the movies we love, the disappointments and successes. Every time I have walked into his studio, I have been taken aback by the maturity, the continuous searching, and the boundless curiosity of this artist, who is undeniably our greatest in Santa Barbara. He is a giant. And yet I have seen vulnerable sides to him — times where insecurity creeps in — and that makes him oh-so human and even more magnificent. He’s an artist through and through — and Santa Barbara has been his muse. His other muse has been the love of his life — his wife, Susan Pitcher. Susan and Santa Barbara to him are one and the same. Both represent his home and earn his everlasting devotion.

Yet nothing prepared me for what I saw when I showed up to Hank Pitcher’s studio on December 12, 2024. I had read that throughout history, painters have created their best work well into their seventies and eighties — e.g., Matisse, Picasso, and Georgia O’Keeffe. I’m a big fan of Claude Monet, and I have visited his studio in Giverny where, at an advanced age, he painted his masterpieces from his garden — the water lilies. These artists became more introspective and daring with age. An accumulation of life experience combined with a confidence in their craft and an empowering way of expression led to greater insight and product.