Film Screening: The Painted Life of Gregory Gillespie
Join us for a special screening of The Painted Life of Gregory Gillespie, an award‑winning new documentary exploring the life, work, and legacy of one of America’s most enigmatic figurative painters. Directed by Evan Goodchild, the film uncovers the extraordinary trajectory of Gregory Gillespie (1936–2000)—from his turbulent New Jersey upbringing to his formative years in Italy studying the Renaissance masters, to his rise as a celebrated and deeply original force in American contemporary painting.
Featuring rare archival footage and interviews with curators, collectors, family, and fellow artists, the documentary reveals the intensity, spirituality, and psychological depth that shaped Gillespie’s distinctive surreal‑realist style.
Winner of multiple 2025 festival awards—including Best Feature Documentary at Boston.Doc Film Festival and the Audience Award at Cannes International Film Week—the film offers an intimate look into Gillespie’s artistic evolution, his painstaking technique, and the personal struggles that influenced his work.
This screening is an opportunity for artists, students, art lovers, and the PAFA community to engage with the legacy of a visionary painter whose work appears in collections across the country, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.
Film Credits
The Painted Life of Gregory Gillespie
- Director: Evan Goodchild
- Executive Producer: Eric Brecher
- Producers: Rick Segal, Robert Kohler
- Produced by Goodchild Media
Evan Goodchild is a director, editor, and educator driven by a passion for documenting the human spirit.
The Painted Life of Gregory Gillespie is his debut documentary feature film as director/editor, winning Best Film Audience at Cannes International Film Week Festival, Best Feature Documentary at Boston.Doc festival, and the David Kleiler Judges Award at Newburyport Documentary Film Festival. He recently directed the New England Public Media-produced short film Nelson Stevens & AfriCOBRA: Art for the People, which screened at the Boston MFA, Boston Globe’s Black History Month film festival, and was televised on New England PBS and NPR stations. He is currently in production alongside Mass Humanities on a short documentary for America’s 250th anniversary.
Evan studied film and audio at Emerson College in Boston, teaches media production in both public school, community and university settings, and produces podcasts for Yale University’s Divinity School and the sustainability organization Commons. Other awards include Best Short Film at the Mad in America International Film Festival, a 2024 Webby nomination for Best Branded Podcast, and Gold Honor Finalist for 2025’s Shorty Impact Awards. Hailing from Springfield, MA, Evan now calls Canton, CT home.
Photo Credit: Andrea Alexis
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