Appellation Napa Valley, California

Gail Ann Packer

A depitction of a vineyard in Napa Valley, California, in summer. The etching's vignette "frame" includes a red tailed hawk at the bottom center, flanked by decorative columns and a border of stylized flowering plants. The scene looks across a ripening vineyard to a distant, blue and white house nestled among the vines. Beyond, the classic Northern California rolling golden hills, dotted with old oak trees, complete the scene.

Gail Packer was especially known for her vignetted imagery, often done in informal series - as with the vineyards of California's famous wine regions, Napa and Sonoma. Her inclusion of inset pictures within the vignette frame is done with purpose, as each one (in this case, the picture of the hawk) relates to the main image. Hawks are commonly seen perched on power lines and bare branches around agricultural centers, patiently waiting for the rodents that are attracted to the land's bounty to emerge from the soil. Once they do, the hawk swoops in: nature's own pest control.

The wood picture frame for this work was handpainted by the artist and frequent collaborater of Packer's, Hildy Henry (American: 1929-2019). Henry was a Sonoma County-based artist, educator, and author of Faux Finishes: Decorating Techniques in Non-Toxic Materials (1986, Painting Peasants, Santa Rosa, CA). Her interest European folk arts led to her create her Arts-and-Crafts style picture frames. Packer was one of Henry's main professional partnerships, working with her to create work-specific frames from the mid 1980s through the late 1990s.