‘Three Sunflowers’ by Dorothy Hoard is one of the pieces in the silent auction of her art benefiting PEEC. Courtesy/PEEC
PEEC News:
Before her death in March, Dorothy Hoard, one of the most beloved women in Los Alamos, a Living Treasure, and ardent supporter of the community, entrusted her friend Terry Foxx with her artwork.
Hoard’s wish was that it would be used to further her legacy by offering the artwork for sale to the community through the Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC).
To honor this wish, PEEC is offering one-of-a-kind pieces of Hoard’s work through a silent action, going on now through the end of the month. All proceeds of the auction will go into the Dorothy Hoard Memorial Fund and will be used to pay for exhibits and programs at the new Los Alamos County Nature Center. The artwork can be viewed and bid on either online, or at the PEEC Nature Center. Bids will be accepted until 10:30 p.m., June 30.
Forty-four unique works are on exhibit and available for bidding. The media and subject matters vary, but the recurring theme is Hoard’s ability to capture nature and the beauty of the Pajarito Plateau and surrounding areas through her treasured artwork.
The artwork is available for viewing at the PEEC nature center at 3540 Orange St. during regular hours, noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. The works of art may also be viewed online at http://peecnature.wordpress.com/. Bidding is available both in-person at the center, and online. PEEC is requesting starting bids of $35 for small pieces, $75 for medium pieces (8”×14”), and $100 for large pieces.
Learn more about the bidding process at http://peecnature.wordpress.com/.
Hoard was a writer, artist, teacher, scientist, and lover of the natural world. Her passion for history, nature, and the landscape was expressed in her writing and in her artwork. She was a prolific writer about the history and ecology of the area. Hoard did hundreds of drawings for her various publications, but she also did more than 40 paintings of places she loved and images that inspired her. Her media was pen and ink, acrylic and watercolor.
Hoard was an avid hiker; she loved plants and the topography of the land. She poured her love into several books on local subjects, including a guide to Bandelier National Monument; a plant identification guide with botanist Teralene Foxx; a study of historic roads of Los Alamos; and a book on Los Alamos homesteaders with archaeologist Ellen McGehee and historian Judith Machen.
Concerned about preservation of cultural sites on county land, Hoard secured the addition of parts of White Rock Canyon and several historic roads in Los Alamos to the National Register of Historic Places. She also conceived and planned a trail around the rim of the Valles Caldera. She founded Friends of Bandelier in 1987 and remained its president until her death. Hoard was employed by Los Alamos Scientific/National Laboratory for 23 years, first in inorganic analytical chemistry and then in environmental cleanup.
To learn more about the auction, visit http://peecnature.wordpress.com/ or contact PEEC at 505.662.0460.
