Alison Hildreth works in mixed media drawing, painting, printmaking, and installation. While she incorporates ideas from research in cartography, astronomy, environmental studies, history, and philosophy into her work—many of her ideas come from walking and daydreaming.
After graduating from Vassar College with a B.A. in Art History, Hildreth worked in New York and went to night school at the Art Students League and the National Academy of Art. She moved to Maine and continued her studies in Studio Art graduating from the Maine College of Art in 1976. Since that time she has had several studios in Portland and now is located at the Bakery Studios at 61 Pleasant Street. Hildreth taught as a non-resident studio instructor for MFA programs at Maine College of Art & Design, Vermont College, and Lesley College in Boston and as part of the Continuing Studies Program at MECA&D. She has received honorary degrees from MECA&D and the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts and was awarded the MECA&D Honors for Leadership in the Arts in 2008. In 2009,Hildreth was awarded a spot at La Napoule Artist Residency in France. She has been a member of Portland Public Art Committee and currently sits on the committee re-envisioning Congress Square Park with selected sculptures by artist Sarah Sze. She is the co-owner and operator of the Bakery studio building, which houses over a dozen individual artists and Peregrine Press.
Hildreth has exhibited in the United States and abroad including Australia, the United Arab Emirates, and Greece among others. Most recently she has shown at Elizabeth Moss Galleries in Falmouth, ME, Speedwell Contemporary in Portland, ME, and the Center for Contemporary Art in Rockland, ME. Her work is included in numerous permanent collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Farnsworth Art Museum, the Portland Museum of Art, and the New York, Boston and Portland Public Libraries. Hildreth lives and works in Portland and Vinalhaven, Maine.