About the Artist

The American Picasso

Pascal (Pat) Cucaro was born in Youngstown, Ohio on November 6, 1915, to Italian immigrant parents. He was said to have two passions in life, painting and love.


He served from 1942-1945 in the US Army during WWII and was stationed in Georgia and London, England. It was upon his return that he started painting on his own and was determined to make a career of his art. 


Stimulated by his strong interest in art, Cucaro moved out west.  He traveled through New Mexico, Arizona, then to Los Angeles and finally settling in San Francisco. He attended the California School of Fine Arts from 1948-1952, then ventured back to Europe to spend time in France, Spain, and Italy to study art on his own.


Returning to America he became part of the art scene during the lively 'Beat' years in San Francisco's North Beach section. Writers, philosophers, poets and artists frequented North Beach, and the many cafes and nightclubs became their gathering spots. He became acquainted with Enrico Banducci, owner of a nightclub called the hungry i and Cucaro exhibited paintings there as well as at the Fox and the Hound, the Iron Pot and the Black Cat Cafes.


The hippie Summer of Love/Anti-War Movement of the late 1960s adopted his iconic piece "Angelique, Child of Peace" as a symbol for their cause. The Beatles, Jefferson Airplane and other luminaries did so as well. (The image was that of his daughter). Experiencing and documenting so perfectly the zeitgeist of two iconic eras both in body and art in the City most identified with those movements was his destiny and he delivered. From Cafe poetry readings to peace & love protest marches, he was there capturing both the images and the spirit for posterity.


His painting style is characterized by a bold gestural quality, complimented by a thick application of paint.  In some cases, the artwork has paint so thick it seems to have been applied straight from the tube.  Although primarily inspired by Impressionists and Expressionists and such artists as Van Gough and Toulouse-Lautrec, he created his own style. He would say, “I am my own school. I paint Cucaro style.” His art evolved over time and was the result of the fusion of many influences and much experimentation.


Favoring bright colors and a dynamic brush stroke, he would also incorporate linear definition and open perspectives in his paintings. He often would paint with heavy layers of medium- opaque and dense. Some times he would paint with thin layers of transparency. For the finish, occasionally, he would leave the surface rough but more often he would finish the work with a thickly varnished surface. 


He was intrigued by different shapes and surfaces and liked to paint on those that differed from the usual rectangles and canvas. On narrow upright canvas, he’d paint street scenes of Naples, complete with laundry strung between the houses that lined the narrow alleyways. 
On thin strips of wood of yardsticks and rulers, he did expressive faces. On guitars and violins, he painted clown portraits. On round, oval or triangular shaped canvas or masonite, he did florals with exploding bright colors or galloping horsemen. He even painted on plexiglass, formica and sheets of steel and was even known to draw on paper plates or napkins when the moment arose.


He traveled extensively abroad to find new inspirations for his work -- to Japan, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, China, Malta, Tunisia, Turkey, Iran, Israel, Tahiti, and all throughout Europe. He explored a variety of subjects: abstract, crowd themes (what Cucaro calls "people-people" paintings), still life, marine and street scenes, portraits and circus life with mediums such as oils, acrylics, watercolors, tempera, etchings, india ink, ink/wash, lithographs and prints.


To see him with his sunned complexion, his beret cocked over one ear, his chin and his nose, one would easily take him for a child of the Basque country or Burn. His Latin origin explains this resemblance, and it was likewise this Latin blood that drove him to travel in France and Spain.  From his Parisian sojourn, from his studies in private studios, his long strolls along the length of the Seine or across the French countryside, he has brought back pictures which some feel vibrate with some of the magic of his masters; Cezanne, Lautrec, Miro and Picasso.


He settled in Sausalito, a picturesque artist community across the bay, just a short drive across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco where he continued to work and exhibit. The walls of his studio smile at you when the sun envelops them with its dust-laden light. They are hung with scenes evocative of the picturesque Paris discovered by the painter -- hidden spots, fountains forgotten by the tourist agencies, places where artists, painters and musicians dream again.  This is the world of Cucaro. Some of the scenes are of night-spots painted with humor and nostalgia a little in the manner of Lautrec, while others are abstract creations that are smoothly executed Miro-like.


From the beginning his work sold. "I was lucky," he says. "I didn't have to push hard to sell, and because of this I was able to work in peace. San Francisco has been good to me.  I owe it to a woman who had faith in me from the beginning and believed in my talent.  She bought my paintings as fast as I could make them and helped to get my name known." Among his notable admirers and collectors: Tony Bennett, Marlon Brando, Raymond Burr, Bette Davis, William Holden, Dennis Hopper, Liberace, Burgess Meredith, Jack Nicholson, Vincent Price, Grace Slick, Frank Sinatra, Jack Webb, Natalie Wood, just to name a few.


Amongst his one man art shows were ones held at: the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio, at Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif. International Gallery in Chicago and Pittsburg Plan for Art and many others. He exhibited at a host of galleries including Ades Gallery of Paris, Christchurch Art Gallery in New Zealand, The Museum of Graphic Arts in New York and Palacio de Belles Artes in Santo Domingo. In San Francisco, Cory Galleries, De Medici Gallery, City Gallery, Lyon Art Gallery, Studio 44 and in Sausalito at the Village Faire, Shelby Art Gallery and the Connextions Gallery. 


He was nominated for the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1965.


 Cucaro passed away on January 31st, 2004.