Opening September 11th and on view until October 8th, the Copley Society of art’s newest exhibition in the Upper Gallery, Saved Views, features the work of artist Leslie Baker. Opening September 11th and on view until October 8th, the Copley Society of art’s newest exhibition in the Upper Gallery, Saved Views, features the work of artist Leslie Baker.

Painter, portrait artist, and children’s book writer and illustrator, Leslie Baker’s work has attracted a diverse audience.  Saved Views highlights her studies of Martha’s Vineyard landscapes while exploring abstraction and tonal differences within those landscapes.  The show is anchored by a large sweeping triptych of Long Point Preserve on the Vineyard’s South Shore on a hazy, late summer day. Capturing the contrasting and intricate confusion of thickets, brush piles and fallen limbs of Martha’s Vineyard, the exhibition at the Copley Society features Baker’s plein air oil studies that articulate an irregularity in paint handling and culminate her unique artistic process.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, educated at Pratt Institute, Arcadia University (BFA with Honors) and Tyler School of Art (M.Ed with a Major in Art), Baker spent most of her career in Philadelphia where she taught art at several schools and colleges and was represented by galleries in the area and in California. She moved to West Tisbury in 1997, after more than a decade as a summer resident. Her professional career spans over 30 years and includes many major exhibitions, prizes and fifteen critically acclaimed children’s books.  Her paintings have appeared in American Artist Magazine and most recently in the Fall 2005 Vineyard Style Magazine. Martha’s Vineyard Times called her landscapes “unusual, even risky palettes with a subtlety of depth and dimension that reward close viewing.”

Opening Reception: Saturday, September 11, 5:30-7:30pm at 158 Newbury Street.