A new art exhibition that considers wildlife against urban backdrops opened on Saturday, December 7 at the High Desert Museum.
Neighbors: Wildlife Paintings by Hilary Baker shares imagery of wildlife native to the High Desert—gray fox, black bear, pronghorn antelope and others. They stand in the foreground with urban encroachment in the background—the fox on railroad tracks, the black bear in front of a 7-Eleven and the pronghorn antelope against the housing developments that now impede their movement across the landscape.
“These paintings are dynamic and colorful,” says Museum Executive Director Dana Whitelaw, Ph.D. “They also tell an important story of wildlife across the High Desert—where migration paths have been interrupted and wildlife face increasing obstacles.”
Baker (b. 1948) grew up in Los Angeles in the latter years of Hollywood’s Golden Age. She spent her childhood exploring the hills and canyons near her home, searching for animal bones and other evidence of wild creatures amid the backdrop of iconic Angeleno architecture. Her desire to collect and archive elements of a vanishing landscape became the inspiration for the series of paintings in the exhibition.
She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her Master of Fine Arts from the Otis Art Institute (now Otis College of Art & Design). Her work is included in numerous public collections, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, the Crocker Art Museum, the Broad Art Foundation, Temple University and the University of Southern California.
Baker will be at the High Desert Museum to connect with visitors about the more than a dozen works in Neighbors on Thursday, December 19 from 4:00 pm to 7:30 pm during Winter Nights, an evening of special activities and extended hours. To learn more, visit highdesertmuseum.org.winter-nights.
Neighbors: Wildlife Paintings by Hilary Baker is open through April 6, 2025, and is made possible by the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation. For more information, visit highdesertmuseum.org/hilary-baker.
ABOUT THE MUSEUM:
The HIGH DESERT MUSEUM opened in Bend, Oregon in 1982. It brings together wildlife, cultures, art, history and the natural world to convey the wonder of North America’s High Desert. The Museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, is a Smithsonian Affiliate, was the 2019 recipient of the Western Museums Association’s Charles Redd Award for Exhibition Excellence and was a 2021 recipient of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. To learn more, visit highdesertmuseum.org and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
