Edith Baker Papers & Gallery Records

Edith Arie was born on 5 May 1923 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The Arie family owned and operated a cosmetics factory in Sofia, and were Jewish. Edith graduated from the American College of Simeonovo in 1943 with a proficiency in eight languages. That skill propelled her into a position with the American Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC) as an interpreter. The AJDC, under the direction of her future husband, an American citizen, was ultimately responsible after World War II for the resettlement of 40,000 Jews in Israel.

Edith was among the 40,000, marrying Fred Baker in Israel in 1949 before emmigrating again, to Chicago, Fred's hometown.

Edith's extensive studies at the Art Insititute of Chicago were a prelude to her continued scholarship in Dallas in the early 1950s. She studied art with the city's prominent core of contemporary artists including Octavio Medellin, Otis Dozier, Deforest Judd, and Jerry Bywaters through the Dallas Museum of Fine Art's Museum School.

A period of travel and study of art history and painting in France and Portugal, where she also had family, ended when the Bakers returned to Dallas in 1963. Edith established her own studio, continuing her art practice, and added lecturing on modern art at Temple Emanuel, and teaching painting from her garage studio for 15 years to her repertoire.

While continuing to teach, Edith agreed to become a partner in opening a local art gallery in 1977, called Collector's Choice Gallery. That gallery ultimately evolved as Edith Baker Gallery with a concentration on the work of local and regional contemporary artists, evidencing her devotion to the local artistic community and climate. Collector's Choice and Edith Baker Gallery were located at 5960 Royal Lane.

Baker perceived the development and direction of the Edith Baker Gallery from a dual viewpoint, largely the result of her extensive background as an artist, educator, and advisor to individual and corporate collectors.

The Edith Baker Gallery celebrated its 10th anniversary in 1987 by relocating the gallery from Preston-Royal to near The Crescent at 2404 Cedar Springs, at Maple.

Baker sold the Edith Baker Gallery to Assistant Gallery Director Cidnee Patrick in 2001.

Edith and Fred Baker (d. 2010) had two children, Jeff Baker and Rini Andres, and one granddaughter. Edith died on 14 March 2021, at the age of 97.

Sources for biographical history:

Edith Baker Gallery 10th Anniversary, Profile: Edith Baker (Box 2, Folder 8);

Life Interrupted: A Memoir by Edith Arie Baker (Box 1, Folder 1);

Edith Baker obituaries (Box 1, Folder 16)