Packed In A Trunk - the Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson

The other night I watched a wonderful documentary on HBO on Demand - "Packed in a Truck." A grandniece (though she might actually be a cousin, I think) went searching for the life of her ancestor, Edith Lake Wilkinson.

Edith was an unmarried and childfree woman, whose money was eventually embezzled from her as she was locked up in an institution and neglected. Horrendous circumstances. A wonderful story, though, about the research and the 'bringing home' of a very talented artist.

I am intrigued by this story, too, because, though my ancestors are not talented artists - at least not that I have discovered - they also deserve to have their stories told and not to be forgotten.

Here's how they describer the documentary on the website:

PACKED IN A TRUNK uncovers the story of artist Edith Lake Wilkinson, committed to an asylum in 1924 and never heard from again.  We follow the journey of Edith’s great-niece as she pieces together the mystery of Edith’s life and returns her work to Provincetown.

Here is a lovely example of her work which I took from the website: