Art & Letters Anniversaries

A couple of major theaters in town have been celebrating centennial anniversaries of a sort this year, while in February the Santa Barbara International Film Festival will turn 40. But in between, two well-established art galleries are also having 40th birthdays, and the city’s most enduring bookstore is marking a major milestone as well – heralding the half-century since its founding, all with special events taking place this week. 

Waterhouse Gallery Santa Barbara opened its doors in town in 1984, in the early 1990s taking up residence in its current location at La Arcada in downtown Santa Barbara, where it has focused almost exclusively on representational art – largely landscape paintings and portraiture from impressionism to realism. 

“I don’t think there’s anybody else in our line of businesses that has lasted that long in town,” said Ralph Waterhouse, who is not only co-owner with his wife Diane but also a fine artist whose work is available at the gallery. “The gallery business is not an easy one. You’ve got to have a fairly thick skin and a lot of determination. But we have stuck to our guns as what we like to represent, and we’re still here.”

Indeed, the Waterhouses actually opened a second gallery at Coast Village Plaza in Montecito 18 months ago, which is managed by Diane as another labor of love. 

“When we opened the first gallery, there were no personal computers, no Internet, and no black frames,” she said. “Times have changed but the gallery has always been a showcase for the most beautiful landscape, figurative and urban paintings. It’s just a big part of our life. We still have great passion for it and love what we do. We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished and that many of our artists have been with us for years. And we love being so involved in the community with the arts.”

While the Santa Barbara gallery will be open for 1st Thursday, the bigger celebration happens on November 23 when nine of the gallery’s artists will be painting live in the courtyard, followed by an artists’ reception and a dinner party for artists, collectors and friends at a nearby restaurant. Visit www.waterhousegallery.com.

Forty years is actually stretching the truth when it comes to Sullivan Goss Gallery, which did indeed open in 1984, but down in Sierra Madre, where the gallery originally offered fine prints and later California paintings and contemporary art. The move to Santa Barbara came in 1993, when Sullivan Goss Books and Prints opened on State Street in Santa Barbara to sell both rare books and art. A year later, they moved to 7 East Anapamu Street for a larger space to sell books on art and architecture and historic and contemporary California art. Co-owners Patricia Sullivan Goss and Frank Goss added food and drink to the fare, resulting in the debut of Arts & Letters Café. 

The art collection grew and expanded, and in 2004, the gallery got out of the book business altogether, expanding to include the building next door. 10 years ago, the much beloved Arts & Letters Café closed its doors, and in 2016 former Sullivan Goss employee Nathan Vonk acquired the gallery from Frank Goss. Whatever its history, and while both books and the bistro might still be missed, Sullivan Goss has continued to grow and expand its collection of artists’ estates and roster of new contemporary artists, both of which will be celebrated in a dual exhibition that opens on November 1. 

Each of the gallery’s currently represented artists and estates will be exemplified by at least one of the artist’s works, alongside major works by artists who are important to the gallery – some 44 in all. A large number of the artists are expected to be present for the official reception on November 7 as part of the 1st Thursday art walk. Visit www.sullivangoss.com.

Chaucer’s Books was open in Santa Barbara long before Arts & Letter Café opened and closed. The independent midtown shop, which opened in 1974, the same year as the Earthling’s original store, survived the national bookstore wars when both Barnes & Noble and Borders mega-stores came to town – an onslaught that eventually enveloped The Earthling – and is still here long after those bad boys went under. Even the advent of Amazon hasn’t been able to choke Chaucer’s, nor has the decision of its founder Mahri Kerley to retire and sell to married couple Jen Lemberger and Greg Feitt, the latter the book store’s employee for 20 years and general manager for the last seven. 

In other words, making it to 50 means a lot. 

Chaucer’s milestone celebration takes place on November 1 in a two-hour event featuring several special guests, including a number of local authors (T. C. Boyle among them), tribute videos, and words from the new owners and founder Kerley, who will be fêted with the Quire of Voyces leading everyone in singing “Happy Birthday” to the 80-year-old. The two winners of Chaucer’s “Tell Us Your Story” contest will read their works, and everyone will enjoy cupcakes and other treats, and be able to partake of the store’s annual anniversary sale. 

“It’s a testament to the community of writers, readers, educators and partners that we exist. So the event is really a celebration of the community, a thank you to those that support us and buy our books,” said Lemberger. “Books and stories are windows and mirrors into our lives, and encourage empathy and understanding. There’s something special about book ownership, having a book to read and hold, reflect on, and come back to in different moments in your life. Books are the most ancient, advanced technology that we’re still using.”

Visit www.chaucersbooks.com.