Hezekiah Baker
Hezekiah Baker
(1940–2007)
River Scene at Night
Oil on Upson board, undated
H: 27” W: 21”
Acquired in 2010
Originally from Savannah, Georgia, Hezekiah Baker lived most of his life in Fort Pierce. As a young man, Baker worked as a farm laborer, picking oranges and tomatoes. He began painting when he took an art correspondence course that he saw advertised on television. In the late 1960s, he met Alfred Hair and was impressed by his success. Baker quickly learned to paint in the same fast style and to use the same selling techniques as Hair. Soon Baker was selling his paintings for $15 to $35. Baker, who was married and had three children, pursued other ways of making a living, including opening his own successful restaurant, House of Food. When his wife died in 1999, Baker closed his business and returned to his first love of painting.
