Anne Packard

The painting tradition is strong in Anne Packard's family, from her grandfather Max Bohm, a turn-of-the-century impressionist, to her grandmother, great-aunt, uncle, mother, and daughter.

Anne grew up in New York, the daughter of a prominent medical physician. Although she desired to be an artist, following her family's strong painting tradition, her parents coerced her into going to a secretarial school. After working in the city for a while, she married and raised five children in New Jersey. Anne did not take up painting until the age of 30.

Having always summered in Provincetown, Anne moved there with her children in the 70s. At this time, she began her career as an artist, painting on pieces of driftwood that she sold to passing tourists. Those fortunate enough to have followed Anne's progress since the mid-1970s have witnessed the astonishing evolution of her work.

Her art was initially worked on wood panels from wind drift along the shores of Cape Cod. These smaller bookshelf-sized, icon-like images delighted and inspired viewers, vistas of land, sea, and sky glowing like jewels. As she became more involved with her art, she studied with the late Phillip Malicoat and at Bard College. The artist Robert Motherwell saw great talent in Packard and purchased twenty-three of her paintings for his collection. With more excellent knowledge and practiced discipline, new directions emerged.

Her studio is the largest room in her bayside home. Working above the tidal edge, in sight of the harbor and the open water beyond, she is mindful of the suddenness of nature's changing moods. Her painting evokes the surge of relentlessly driven winter seas, the tranquil planes of dunes at rest, or an inviting narrow trail winding through sharp-bladed grasses.

The Cape, which Anne has returned repeatedly, continues restoring her spirit. On that unique longitude, she has always been at home. Through her childhood by the ocean and as a young woman, this world apart has provided nurture. Later, as a mother, she lovingly raised her five children by that same shore. Ultimately, as an artist, her newfound solitude freed her to express her identification with this special place.