PROVINCETOWN — Anne Lord Malicoat, a long-time resident of Provincetown, died peacefully at home on Aug. 29, 2019, with her family at her side. She was 81 and had lived for over a decade with Parkinson’s disease.
A respected artist, a community- and conservation-minded citizen, and a nurturer of all, Anne reveled in the outdoors, creativity of all kinds, organic and foraged foods, and her family and friends.
Born to Milton Edward Lord and Rosamond Lane Lord on April 20, 1938, Anne grew up in Boxford, the fourth of five children. Her father was director of the Boston Public Library, and her mother an artist.
Anne said she liked having three older siblings because the adults rarely wondered where she was. She developed an early and lifelong passion for drawing. She had a makeshift studio in the family barn, where horses were boarded and cared for, and horses were a focus of her artwork throughout her life. Her family enjoyed winter hikes in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and summers on her beloved Little Cranberry Island in Maine.
As a teen on the Appalachian Mountain Club crew, Anne was frustrated that females could work only at the Pinkham Notch base rather than up in the huts, so she spent a subsequent summer employed at Yosemite National Park, where she worked in the mountains, hiking and drawing on her days off. Back East, she and her sisters were noted in a 1950s AMC newsletter for their daredevil skiing of Tuckerman’s Ravine. She continued to hike the AMC’s White Mountain trails when she could.
Anne graduated from Punchard High School in Andover and attended Radcliffe College, transfering after two years to the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts. In the summer of 1958, she met Conrad Malicoat at the Skowhegan School of Art and Design, and sparks flew; they were married and settled in New York City in 1960, and welcomed their first child, Robena, in 1961.
Shortly after her birth, Conrad built a tiny house on the back of a truck and the trio traveled across the country. Six months later, they returned and made a home in Provincetown, where their family grew to include two more daughters, Galen and Bronwyn.
Though she married into the Malicoat family — a firmly established town presence — Anne quickly became a local force in her own right. She was vocal at town meetings and served on the town’s school committee and water and sewer board, as well as the artist advisory council for Castle Hill, and as president of the board of the Provincetown Art Association. She owned and operated the Anne Lord Gallery for much of the 1980s.
Anne also secured grants for artists’ programs in the schools, where she taught children to work in clay and produced impressive murals of their work. A member of the Provincetown-Truro Mediation Group, she served as a community mediator and helped develop a peer mediation program in the Provincetown Schools. Many appreciated her generosity, kindness, and open mind.
Anne’s even keel and open spirit were balanced by a warm sense of humor, a healthy dose of stubbornness, and a strong competitive streak. Though seemingly quiet, she secretly might be strategizing. She was always there for folks, but if you challenged her to a game of Scrabble, she pulled no punches.
Anne was a compulsive truth-teller, no matter how awkward or inconvenient the circumstances. Her house was a cozy, creative haven. Her wood cookstove had delicious dishes bubbling on top and homemade “Annie bread” in the oven. In partnership with Conrad, and like her mother, she foraged for shellfish, berries, and other bounty from the land, and with great care always maintained a vegetable garden.
Anne will be remembered for her natural creative talents. Distinctive, flowing lines characterized her drawings and prints of both human and animal forms. Her work in clay (also sometimes foraged) included both beautiful and whimsical sculptures as well as utilitarian pieces.
She is survived by her daughters, Robena Malicoat and her husband, Mark Protosevich, of Provincetown; Galen Malicoat and her husband, Beau Valtz, of Wellfleet; and Bronwyn Malicoat and her husband, Michael Bois, of Provincetown; by seven grandchildren: Clementine, Lyle, and Ryland Valtz of Wellfleet; Kai Malicoat; and Olivia, Andre, and Emilia Bois of Provincetown; by her brother, Peter Lord, and sisters, Joan Johnston, Mary Van Dusen, and Sarah Corson; by 16 nieces and nephews, 21 great-nieces and great-nephews, and many dear friends.
She was predeceased by her husband, the artist Conrad Malicoat, in 2014, and her sister-in-law, the artist Martha Dunigan, in 2001.
“The entire extended Malicoat clan is beyond amazing,” said Deborah Minsky of Provincetown this week, “and everyone adored Annie.”
The date of a planned celebration of Anne Lord Malicoat’s life has not yet been announced. Donations in Anne’s memory may be made to Helping Our Women in Provincetown.
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