The Hawks Perch

In honor of Barbara’s remarkable life, we are continuing to maintain The Hawks Perch and will regularly post new content.

Look for weekly excerpts from “In Her Own Words: Conversations with Barbara Sparhawk,” as well as retrospectives of her artwork.

 

Expressionist artist and writer Barbara Sparhawk passed away on September 4, 2018. Born in New York, her father relocating frequently as an inventor and scientist selected by Oppenheimer for the Manhattan project, Barbara attended 14 schools in districts widely scattered around the country by the time she was 12, eventually graduating from high school in Southern California. Barbara attended La Jolla Museum School of Art, Goddard College in Vermont, St. Martin’s School of Art in London, and the Art Student’s League in NYC. In the 1970s Barbara was a commercial billboard painter on scaffolds high above Times Square. She worked as a speech writer for US Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro, as well as a news writer in New York City for CBS, ABC, and Fox TV. Barbara painted numerous portraits, including author and commentator William F. Buckley Jr., and CBS anchor and reporter Jim Jensen. In 2001 she was a Cameraman’s Assistant for TV’s “Survivor Africa”. She published “The Gandy Dancer & Other Short Stories,” and a children’s book, “CoCo NO!”. In the 1990s Barbara moved to Big Sur and opened an art gallery, eventually relocating to Carmel Valley. She regularly posted blogs both witty and profound on her website, The Hawk’s Perch. Barbara was preceded in death by her son Trevor in 1996.