{"id":561269,"date":"2026-07-21T19:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T19:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/561269\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T19:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T19:32:11","slug":"documentary-delves-into-the-life-and-paintings-of-a-provincetown-artist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/561269\/","title":{"rendered":"Documentary delves into the life and paintings of a Provincetown artist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Provincetown is a burgeoning art community dating to the summer of 1899, when Charles Webster Hawthorne opened his Cape Cod School of Art. In 1914, the Provincetown Art Association was founded. And by 1915, as many as 90 students were enrolled in Hawthorne\u2019s style of impressionist painting.<\/p>\n

\"AnneDriftwood_poster_portrait2<\/p>\n

Fast-forward to 1988, when the artist Anne Packard opened the doors to the Packard Gallery in what was once home to a Christian Science Church. At 93 years old, Packard is known worldwide as a renowned landscape artist. She paints simple, sparsely rendered scenes of the Outer Cape, as well as of Europe. And now, over 30 years later, the gallery is still family-owned and family-run.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnne Packard: An Artist\u2019s Resolve\u201d is a recently released documentary film that has been packing audiences in at film festivals, most recently Sarasota, Florida. Director Arthur Egeli and Executive Producer Judith Richland recently joined The Culture Show to talk about the extraordinary life of an extraordinary woman. The following interview with GBH\u2019s Henry Santoro has been slightly edited for clarity.<\/p>\n

Henry Santoro: Welcome. Tell me about how this film came to be. I mean, how did you find Anne and how did she agree to having a film made about her?<\/p>\n

Arthur Egeli: A few years ago, we were making a film on the beach, and I noticed with some interest that this elderly woman was watching the action. And I said to her, \u201cAnne, would you like to be the nosy neighbor?\u201d She said, \u201cThat\u2019s what I am, and I will be in your movie.\u201d And that\u2019s how we met her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Santoro: And we should say that you have a gallery in Provincetown, so you know the lay of the land. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Egeli: I have a gallery in Provincetown. Because of that, I know how special it is to have one. And it\u2019s not only an accomplishment, but it can launch you as an artist. <\/p>\n

Santoro: You\u2019re also a filmmaker with seven films under your belt.<\/p>\n

Judith Richland: And I might add that Anne has had cameo pieces in at least three of our films, hasn\u2019t she?<\/p>\n

Egeli: She has. She\u2019s a natural \u2014 how shall I say \u2014 celebrity.<\/p>\n

Santoro: Especially in Provincetown, there\u2019s no question. While her paintings are very serene, she is not. Anne Packard is a feisty woman. Interestingly, you didn\u2019t have to convince her to allow you to bring in your cameras. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Egeli: It was in the dead of winter last year. I might have been moping around my house because I didn\u2019t really feel like painting. And my wife said, \u201cWhy don\u2019t you visit Anne?\u201d My wife\u2019s also a producer in this movie. I went down to her house and she wasn\u2019t around. But then I saw the lift chair that goes up the stairs. When I walked upstairs, there was Anne surrounded by 14 or 15 paintings bigger than her. She was painting. She excitedly said, \u201dArthur, what do you think of this?\u201c And I\u2019m like, \u201dWow.\u201c Suddenly, I felt inadequate because I\u2019ve been moping and she\u2019s been painting and her career is going forward and mine\u2019s not. But at that moment I said, \u201dAnne, let me just take a little video of you.\u201c And I did. It was about 45 seconds.<\/p>\n

Santoro: And that\u2019s all it took. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Egeli: That\u2019s all it took.<\/p>\n

Santoro: Born in Hyde Park, New York, 1933. How and why was Provincetown on her radar, or was it?<\/p>\n

Egeli: Anne practically grew up in Provincetown in the summer. Her family would vacation there, and she had fond memories of it. I think when she got married and moved to Princeton, New Jersey, I think all she was thinking about how was she can get herself back to Provincetown. It happened in a way she wouldn\u2019t have planned on. She always mentions that her husband who wanted to be Hemingway left her for a 19-year-old and moved to Paris and left her alone with five children. But she knew she had skills. She started painting and began to put up her paintings on the fence near her house for $5 or $10 or $15. Those paintings are priceless now, pretty much, in my opinion. That\u2019s how she started to make a living.<\/p>\n

\"image6.jpeg\"<\/p>\n

Painting by Providence artist Anne Packard, the focus of a documentary called, Anne Packard: An Artist’s Resolve<\/p>\n

\n Courtesy of Arthur Egeli\n <\/p>\n

Santoro: While in her younger years, we learn that she came from a family of artists, but her parents had other ideas. They did not want her to be an artist, correct?<\/p>\n

Egeli: Correct. They didn\u2019t want her to be a bohemian. That\u2019s how she put it. They sent her to study with a local painter in the summer, and he reported back that Anne\u2019s got talent. Her mother said, \u201cPlease don\u2019t tell her because she\u2019s not going to be an artist like these beatnik artists up here on the Cape. She is going to be a secretary or she\u2019s going to be a nurse.\u201d And Anne is proud to tell me she failed at both.<\/p>\n

Santoro: Was she self-taught? \u00a0<\/p>\n

Egeli: She studied with Philip Malicoat. But I preface that with what\u2019s so cool about Anne is that she\u2019s constantly learning. When you\u2019re with her, she asks you, \u201cWhat do you think of this? Should I move this boat? Should I do this or do that?\u201d And she listens to what you say, and it\u2019s like, that\u2019s amazing. And even now at 93, she\u2019s improving. And it\u2019s more exciting.<\/p>\n

\"image9.jpeg\"<\/p>\n

Provincetown artist Anne Packard is the focus of new documentary on her life as an renowned artist called, “Anne Packard: An Artist’s Resolve.”<\/p>\n

\n Courtesy of Arthur Egeli\n <\/p>\n

Santoro: The thing about being an artist is that there is no age limit. When you look at the likes of Picasso or a Packard.<\/p>\n

Egeli: I\u2019m 62, I\u2019ll have to admit that. On the downhill.<\/p>\n

Santoro: That\u2019s what my PCP says, \u201cSantoro, you\u2019re on the back nine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Egeli: When you realize she\u2019s 93 and she\u2019s still reinventing herself and she\u2019s energetic and creative, it\u2019s just an inspiration.<\/p>\n

Richland: Anne also describes herself as having a fire in her belly that has never subsided, and that she\u2019s anxious to continue more and more as a painter. She wants to be more productive. <\/p>\n

Santoro: I know a little bit about the Provincetown art scene and a little bit about Anne, but it seems to me that she was by herself in Provincetown. She had her daughters and her son, but she was by herself. What did the other members of the art colony think of Anne?<\/p>\n

\"image5.jpeg\"<\/p>\n

Painting by Provincetown artist Anne Packard, the subject of a new documentary called, “Anne Packard: An Artist’s Resolve.”<\/p>\n

\n Courtesy of Arthur Egeli\n <\/p>\n

Egeli: Recently, I\u2019ve become the Anne surrogate because she doesn\u2019t get out, but I do. So these, I don\u2019t know how to say it, jealous green-headed monsters say things to me, that \u2014 seems like a compliment, but it\u2019s not a compliment about her. Anne paved the way. She made it to the mountaintop. She\u2019s calling us over. She\u2019s showing you how to do it, and she\u2019s very generous. But there are a lot of painters who wouldn\u2019t have it. They see this out-of-town woman doing so well. We all dream of having, owning all our houses for cash. I guess, should I say that on the radio?<\/p>\n

Richland: Anne talks about how it was an exclusive boys\u2019 club, all the people who were artists in Provincetown who were making it in the galleries and making money.<\/p>\n

Santoro: Well, she claimed that men slowed her down.<\/p>\n

Richland: And she was right.<\/p>\n

Egeli: Last time I saw her she said, \u201cArthur, I hate to boast, but if I were younger, you\u2019d be my lover.\u201d A little shiver went through me as she mentioned it, and I said something like, \u201cI might have been her slave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Santoro: Nappi, from Nappi\u2019s Restaurant, who we lost a few years ago was a major art collector in Provincetown. Did he own some of her work? I would imagine he did.<\/p>\n

Egeli: I can\u2019t say one way or the other, but having known Nappi, that\u2019s a loaded question.<\/p>\n

Santoro: Yeah, because he was a feisty one himself.<\/p>\n

Egeli: Nappi was opinionated.<\/p>\n

\"image7.jpeg\"<\/p>\n

Provincetown artist Anne Packard speaks to producer and artist Arthur Egeli during the filming of a documentary on her life called, “Anne Packard: An Artist’s Resolve.”<\/p>\n

\n Courtesy of Arthur Egeli\n <\/p>\n

Santoro: And you just got to walk into that restaurant, and you can really see who that guy is.<\/p>\n

Egeli: Anne, in many ways, kept herself separate from the art politics of the town. I understood why because as soon as you open your door to your studio, you\u2019re derailed. She has a way of getting into work and immersing herself. I\u2019ll walk up to the studio, and I\u2019ll be filming her for 2 or 3 minutes before she even notices. And when she does notice, she\u2019s either irritated or happy. She says, \u201cTurn that off!\u201d Or like, \u201cArthur, look what I did! Is this not the best thing I\u2019ve ever painted?\u201d<\/p>\n

Santoro: Is she still selling her paintings?<\/p>\n

Richmond: Daily. Even one painting that she did during the film went for $25,000, didn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

Egeli: Well, I can even top that. I came in one day, and this is the winter after a storm, and she\u2019s painting a snow scene through the window of the Provincetown shore. And we posted it. I call it artists viral because 50,000 is viral for an artist. Of course, Anne\u2019s getting hundreds of thousands of hits now. But that painting sold in a day for $35,000 to a collector in Austin, Texas. And, you know, she\u2019s still selling paintings.<\/p>\n

\"image4<\/p>\n

Painting by Provincetown artist Anne Packard<\/p>\n

\n Arther Egeli\n <\/p>\n

Santoro: She had five children, and we should say that one of them, her son Michael, is a celebrity in his own right. Because he\u2019s the only person in recorded history to have been inside the mouth of a whale. And he survived and he was freed as the whale dislodged him \u2014 and he\u2019s been on this radio station many times to talk about the experience, to talk about the film that was made about it. But it\u2019s her daughters who work with her in the gallery, correct?<\/p>\n

Egeli: One thing about Michael I have to say is that one of the most touching scenes in the film is when he describes the sailboat that she bought for him for his birthday. It was a rowboat with a 7-horsepower Mercury on it, but it started his career. The story is very touching, but I won\u2019t even repeat it now. You must see the movie to see it, but it connects the family in a strong way.<\/p>\n

Santoro: And her daughters are painting and they\u2019re selling, as well.<\/p>\n

\"image0<\/p>\n

Provincetown artist Anne Packard speaks to documentary film producer Arthur Egeli, during filming of “Anne Packard: An Artist’s Resolve,” about her life.<\/p>\n

\n Courtesy of Arthur Egeli\n <\/p>\n

Richmond: Yeah, two of her daughters are painting. They were very involved in the gallery through the years. I also have to say that what is so remarkable about this film is that she\u2019s a 93-year-old woman passionate about her art, and she has said, \u201cIf you\u2019re in your 50s, your 60s, your 70s, your 80s and 90s, it\u2019s not all over.\u201d There\u2019s still so much you can do. Now that\u2019s aspiration. That is so inspiring for any viewer, really.<\/p>\n

Santoro: My friend Peter Wolf, the lead singer for The J. Geils Band, just wrapped up a tour. He\u2019s 81 years old. He\u2019s bouncing around that stage like he\u2019s 31 years old. And when he\u2019s asked by fans and other people, \u201cHow long are you going to keep doing this?\u201d His answer is, \u201cNobody ever told Monet when to stop painting. Nobody ever told Picasso when to stop painting. And nobody ever told Anne Packard when to stop painting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Egeli: I guarantee she\u2019s painting right now.<\/p>\n

Santoro: \u201cAnne Packard: An Artist\u2019s Resolve\u201d is the documentary film we\u2019re talking about. It\u2019s been packing audiences in at film festivals. It will surely do so on Cape Cod. Directed by Arthur Egli and Executive Produced by Judith Richland. Thank you so much for coming in. This has been a treat. I can\u2019t wait to see this film.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Provincetown is a burgeoning art community dating to the summer of 1899, when Charles Webster Hawthorne opened his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":561270,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[307,304,305,306,308,93,61,60],"class_list":["post-561269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=561269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/561269\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/561270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=561269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=561269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=561269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}