Lives Loved: An Online Auction of Global Portraits by the Late Nature Photographer Barbara Jo Bailey to Benefit The Contemporary Dayton

The Contemporary Dayton invites art lovers to rejoice in the essence of the month of love and celebrate the remarkable legacy of the late Barbara Bailey, an extraordinary photographer and traveler who masterfully captured the essence of nature and humanity through her lens.

LIVES LOVED: An Online Auction of Global Portraits by the Late Nature Photographer Barbara Jo Bailey to Benefit The Contemporary Dayton will take place exclusively on The Co’s website at www.codayton.org. The sale will open at 10am on February 1, 2024 and will close at midnight on Feb 29, 2024. Thirty photographs ranging in size from 8 x 10 inches and 24 x 30 inches comprise the works available in the Main Collection; and 100 8 x 10 inch works make up the Small Works Collection. Winning bidders have the option of picking up work at the art center or having it shipped; and of works being framed or unframed. It is free to browse the available artworks, but you must register to bid. Registration is free. Registration information is available at codayton.org/livesloved.

A self-taught photographer based in Tipp City, OH, Bailey kept more than 40 journals of her travels to more than 110 countries, including ventures to Nepal over 26 times. Her entire collection comprises hundreds of remarkable photographic prints of the landscape, wild animals, birds, and the regions’ people.

The Lives Loved Collection features heartwarming portraits of children, mothers, and families from around the world, capturing extraordinary moments from their lives and are only available through this exclusive online auction.  The auction not only offers a glimpse into the profound beauty of Bailey’s work but also serves a higher purpose. All proceeds from the auction will benefit The Contemporary Dayton, supporting the flourishing of artists today and ensuring that Bailey’s passion for capturing the intricacies of life continues to inspire and resonate within our community.

SELECT PHOTOGRAPHS ALSO ON VIEW IN THE COSHOP AND AVAILABLE VIA BUY-NOW OPTION

A featured selection of The Lives Loved Collection will be on view in The CoSHOP Feb 2-29 during regular GALLERY & CoSHOP Hours: Wed-Sat, 11-6 p.m. (Closed Sun-Tues) ALWAYS FREE & OPEN TO ALL. CoSHOP visitors may purchase photographs anytime through the BUY-NOW option at a special price.

All proceeds benefit The Contemporary Dayton’s (The Co) Education & Outreach Initiatives, helping to make the arts accessible to the broadest possible audience–with a special emphasis for 2024 on arts and wellness opportunities for underserved youth, marginalized communities, military veterans and their families, and seniors–through engaging workshops and community events.

CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION

The Contemporary Dayton is a 501c3 nonprofit and in accordance with the IRS, winning bidders may claim a charitable contribution deduction for the excess of the purchase price paid for an item over its fair market value.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Barbara Jo Bailey (1936-2023, Tipp City, OH)

The first child of Emmert and Jane Studebaker, Barbara was born in Tipp City, Ohio, in 1936. The Studebaker family roots in this beautiful farming community began in 1813 and Barbara was proud of her heritage.

Belying first impressions, Barbara was a bit of a thrill seeker. As a teenager in the 1950s, she had both a pilot’s license and a motorcycle license. When she wasn’t aloft or on 2 wheels, she was in her sports car.  Throughout life, she liked to move and rarely stood still.

Mechanically bent, she attended Ohio University and was the first woman to graduate from its school of engineering. Her first job was with The Ohio State University at WPAFB (now the Air Force Institute of Technology) and it was there that she met Kenneth L. Bailey, who would be her husband for 46 years.

Born at a time when women were nudged aside, Barbara often nudged right back. She was fiercely independent and determined to define her own path.

She had a passion for design and architecture, having designed her Miami County home and developing its 27-acre arboretum, the “Barboretum,” from the ground up.

At the age of 50, during a gray Ohio winter, Barbara set her sights on finding a sunnier spot when she stepped into the life of a high-altitude trekker with a trip to Nepal.  With the travel passion unlocked, she kept going around the globe over and over visiting countries and experiencing their cultures. While on these trips, she took up the hobby of photography. Over time, she mastered this art and took remarkable photos of people and wild animals in faraway places. She used her camera to build relationships with strangers when there was no common language.

Barbara often found herself in faraway jams – like war zones in Cambodia and Peru – and used her determination and grit to get herself out. Her final trip in 2019 was to Afghanistan while the war continued.  Other hotspot trips included Iran, Sudan, Mali, the Central African Republic, and every country with the name “___stan”. True to form, she applied for a visa to be in the first group of Americans to visit Libya after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, in 2011. And she was a bit proud to have gotten more than a dose of tear gas during riots in Istanbul as that meant she was amid the action.  She preferred tents over hotels, small villages over large cities, locals over tourists. And, without a doubt, she absolutely loved the Himalayas and its people.

Locally and afar, Barbara quietly helped others attain personal success. To these people, working hard to make a better life for themselves, she offered a helping hand up.  She kept these efforts close to her vest; she did it to help others, not for recognition.

Among her many achievements, Barbara was an award-winning author, as well as both a patent and copyright holder.  Barbara Bailey was truly an extraordinary woman.