Although Hilary has had five published books and two theatrical plays produced, she has spent most of the last 40 years working in the visual arts. She has written for film and television, and has produced & directed TV news and documentaries. She won a National Screenwriting Award for her bio picture, A Light Within the Shadow. Her documentary on two Holocaust survivors, I Believe, was narrated by Leonard Nimoy. Hilary later won a Telly Award in Journalism for Literary Explorer’s: Hemingway In Cuba. Her latest screenplay, Hemingway and Fuentes, was co-written with Andy Garcia. Garcia’s interest in rebuilding a Wheeler yacht for the role of Hemingway’s boat, the Pilar, started Hilary’s collection of Pilar artwork. Hilary and Wes Wheeler, grandson of the original designer/builder at Wheeler Yachts, were able to board the Pilar in Cuba to inspect and measure it in detail. The accuracy and authenticity of her Pilar works reflect this unique access to the original boat.

Hilary refined her love of fine art under the eye of her father-in-law, Dr. August Freundlich, retired Dean of Fine Art at Syracuse and USF. She began a series of works on marine life, moving to the bold colors of the Caribbean palette. Her newer work features the natural beauty of the North Carolina mountains. She still uses the same swirling shapes and colorful patterns, but now they become wild scenes like a flowing river cutting through mountain forests.