Legacy Art Santa Barbara’s Familial Roots

Downtown Space Celebrates Local Artists

Crispin Barrymore and Laela Duncan during a celebration at Legacy Arts | Photo: Courtesy

A few years ago, a sense of dread settled over Crispin Barrymore as he recognized his father’s Alzheimer’s Disease progressing. Carroll Barrymore, an artist, devoted much of his time to his love of collecting and making ceramics and Barrymore’s mother, Susanne Barrymore, also an artist, did Sumi-e Japanese ink paintings.

Both parents, longtime residents of Santa Barbara, sold and displayed their work at various art shows throughout the years. Crispin thought they deserved a gallery of their own. And he knew he wanted to do it before his father passed away.

He opened Legacy Art Santa Barbara (LASB) with his friend Ten Cadle in December 2022, as a way to share his parents’ art and cherish their legacy. As a result, his father finally saw his work in a proper gallery before his death almost a year after the grand opening. Carroll experienced immense joy seeing his work on display. His father would sit in the gallery and joke with visitors about buying his work. In that short time, “he was happy,” said Crispin.

Located near The Granada Theatre at 1230 State Street, a menagerie of items is strewn throughout the space. His mother’s scrolls line the walls of LASB. His father’s ceramics sit on various tables throughout. Crispin loves talking about his parents’ artistic talents. He considers his mother, who still lives off Highway 154 in the house purchased in 1958, “a master” of her work, saying she added her own flare to traditional Japanese ink painting. She was also a biologist who earned her master’s from Stanford, teaching at UCSB before becoming a stay-at-home mom.

As an attorney by trade, his father taught business law at UCSB for 19 years. After retiring, he explored ceramics to heal from his challenging childhood, and his love for the craft extended to collecting them. One of his Neolithic pots, “Funerary Storage Jar,” is displayed at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.

Susanne Barrymore at the gallery on her 91st birthday in November | Photo: Courtesy

Crispin’s brother Darrell Barrymore was also an artist. He shares a book with 187 pages of his late brother’s sketches, photographs, and writings — a portal to his soul and a testament to his life (he died in 1981). There’s another book detailing Carroll’s ceramic creations on a table with his pots. His ceramics share a cohesive aesthetic, yet each piece expresses a unique individuality. Over 800 of his father’s works remain in storage.

While the gallery initially opened to celebrate Carroll and Susanne’s legacy, it has since opened its doors to other artists. July and August bring a retrospective show for painter and sculptor Irma Cavat, a former fine arts teacher at UCSB.

Crispin himself is a musician, composer, and former Music Ambassador to the United Nations, so naturally, he incorporated music into the space. Concerts, open mics, and lectures now grace the stage in the back, transforming the gallery into a hub for diverse artistic expression. “It means a lot to me to be able to bring people together to have meaningful conversations that bring some healing to people or the community,” he said.

Crispin’s goal for Legacy Art is simple: to bring local artists together and provide a gathering space for the community. “Breathing new life into Santa Barbara.”

See legacyartsb.com.