William George Baker was born in Wellington in 1864. The Baker family had been settled in this area for two generations and Baker's Hill in Karori was named after his grandfather, George Baker. By the age of 19, young William George was exhibiting with the Fine Arts Association in Wellington. This led to his works being shown at the World's Fair Exposition, St Louis Missouri. Demand continued and in 1911 Baker sold an entire exhibition of 101 paintings. Six months later at a Christchurch auction 93 Baker oils and watercolours were sold. A Wellington exhibition, held in the same year, reportedly attracted 100,000 visitors. The two oil paintings featured in this catalogue, Lots 70 & 74, are fine examples of Baker's work.