In September of 2022, Gary Ernest Smith walked in the door of Crossroads. He asked us to do his final major gallery/retrospective art show, which will span his six-decade career as one of the country’s premier contemporary Western artists.

Gary was raised on a working cattle ranch in Medical Springs and adopted the work ethic of that time and place. His artistic promise was evident as a child, and he started doing commissioned work as early as 14 years old. He graduated from Baker High School in 1960 and was named Outstanding Art Student. He headed off to college and, upon completing his degree in Art from Brigham Young University, was drafted to service in Vietnam. Upon his return, he and his wife Judy made the critical decision that Gary would try to be a working artist. The rest, as they say, is history.

Throughout his career, Smith has had more than 40 one-man and group shows in galleries and museums across the U.S. and throughout the world. Museums, such as the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York, Butler Institute of American Art, Eiteljorg Museum of American Art, Denver Museum of Art, and the Phoenix Museum of Art, have displayed his paintings, and his work is in private and museum collections worldwide. Reviews can be found in SouthWest Art magazine, Art of the West magazine, Western Art Collector magazine, Western Art and Architecture magazine, and others. “Holding Ground: The Art of Gary Ernest Smith,” by Donald Hagerty, a book on his life and work, was published in the late 1990s.

In the 1990s, Gary was asked by the committee organizing the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center opening to do a painting for their marketing efforts. Gary’s painting, “Oregon Pioneers,” has now become synonymous with NHOTIC. When we discussed potential dates for Gary’s show, we knew of his deep connection to the Interpretive Center. Keeping this in mind, “Towards Home” was scheduled to coincide with the reopening of the Interpretive Center, which was finally opening its doors after its multi-year closure for a complete exterior renovation.

Gary titled the show “Towards Home: The Art of Gary Ernest Smith” to signify his return to the community that fostered his artistic promise. With the reopening of the Interpretive Center, as well as Baker City celebrating her 150th birthday, we are in for a remarkable summer.

Traditionally, “renaissance” has pertained to an art period, but the word itself means “rebirth” or “revival.” Crossroads believes that this summer will be a renaissance for Baker County.

Memorial Day of 2024 was chosen as it has historically been the kickoff weekend of our summer season. “Towards Home” will be displayed from the start of Memorial Day weekend until July 21 — the last day of Miners Jubilee.

Things will look a bit different this summer in Baker City. Banners celebrating the art of Gary Ernest Smith will hang down the length of historic downtown Baker City, along with new hanging baskets of flowers. Volunteers are needed to water the flower baskets daily during the summer.

We invite the entire community to help clean up our community after a long winter. We invite community members to join the Downtown Clean-Up Day on May 18, starting at 10 a.m. at the Court Street Plaza. Please bring gloves and be ready to sweep and clean! Contact Baker City Downtown at 541-283-6963 if you want to volunteer to water hanging baskets or help with clean-up day.

We encourage all community members to invite friends and family to come home and visit Baker City this summer. Whether it’s for a class or family reunion, we are scheduling group visits to tour the “Towards Home” exhibit now.

One of the biggest ways locals can help is by sharing this information with others, such as the fact that Crossroads, 2020 Auburn Ave., will be open seven days a week from May 24 to July 21. After it reopens, the Interpretive Center will also be open seven days a week, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Community activities will continue throughout the summer, including Leo Adler Day, the Baker City Cycling Classic, Baker City Motorcycle Rally, Miners Jubilee, Oregon Trail Days, and so much more. With our summer so busy, remember to be patient with extra guests, traffic, and parking challenges.

We hope with this “Baker City renaissance” a new investment will come to Baker City.

Crossroads is so appreciative of the hard work of our partners, including the City of Baker City, Baker County, Baker County Chamber of Commerce, Travel Baker County, Baker City Downtown, Baker County Economic Development, Eastern Oregon Visitors Association, and the Bureau of Land Management, as well as the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center.

Crossroads is located at 2020 Auburn Ave, Baker City, OR, and admission to the show is free to all, so we hope to see everyone!

This show is made possible by the generous support of: James and Marion Miller Foundation, Roundhouse Foundation, Ford Family Foundation, George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation, Union Pacific Foundation, DE and Jane Clark Foundation, a part of Oregon Community Foundation, Flack Family Fund, Leo Adler Foundation, Ash Grove Foundation, and Baker County Transient Lodging Tax Committee.

Signature sponsor is Lew Brothers/Les Schwab Tires. Made Possible By sponsor is Ash Grove Cement. Regional partner is Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative.

On a personal level, the efforts of the Crossroads board of directors and staff, with the help of our partners, remind me so much of a song from a play I had the pleasure of working on with Eastern Oregon Regional Theatre Spitfire Grill, “Come Alive Again.” This beautiful song is about a town that has struggled to find a new future and how, sometimes, the power of hope can transform a community.

“Old storefronts are painted, each flower box fills

The sidewalks are patched and repaired

There are cars along Main Street with out-of-state plates

It’s been so long since anyone cared.”

It is time for the renaissance of Baker City, and we invite you all to come home to Baker City from May 24 to July 21.