The once-home of renowned artist and production illustrator Frank Armitage, who passed away from age-related causes at the age of 91, has appeared on the market for the first time in fifty years, seeking little less than $3 million. This is a little over eight years after Armitage’s death. The 10-acre property, which is situated at 1807 Ladera Road in Ojai, offers stunning views of the Topatopa Mountains and the entire Ojai Valley.
Originally constructed in the early 1970s for Armitage and his then-partner Jill Penkhus, the green wood-sided home was later inherited by Penkhus, an artist who passed away in 2016. Currently owned by Penkhus’s husband, songwriter Jerry Millstein, it offers two bedrooms and three bathrooms in approximately 2,000 square feet of split-level living space with an abundance of windows. Along with the sale is a beautiful sculpture that Armitage himself created.
Depicting himself as a mythological Greek half-man, half-human centaur strumming a guitar and his former partner as a beautiful nude on his back, the sculpture holds court in the living room, which also contains a retro wood-burning fireplace with a stove pipe chimney stretching to the ceiling and glass and wood-trimmed doors spilling out to an expansive wood deck. An adjacent kitchen outfitted with an eat-in peninsula and a walk-in pantry flows to a dining area, a family room that currently serves as an art studio, and an office nestled alongside the entrance foyer.
Other highlights include a duo of spacious primary bedrooms—one on the main level and another on the floor below, with both featuring their own walk-in closets and baths. And outdoors, the Zen-like grounds are dotted with avocado and orange orchards, along with a host of boulder-lined hiking trails. There are also a pair of cottages on the premises, one of which was built with local river stones and the other a music studio holding a full kitchen and bath. An added bonus? The tasting room at Ojai Olive Oil Company is just steps away!
Revered as one of the world’s foremost production illustrators, Armitage moved to Los Angeles in 1952 with $84 in his pocket and landed a job at Walt Disney Studios, where he contributed to backgrounds and layouts for features such as Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, Mary Poppins, and The Jungle Book. The Australian-born artist also did production illustration for Fox’s Oscar-winning sci-fi classic Fantastic Voyage and created artwork and designs for several Disney theme parks.
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