Charles Burton Barber (1845–1894) was a British painter who attained great success with his paintings of children and their pets. Barber was born in

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, and studied from the age of 18 at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

, London - receiving a silver medal for drawing in 1864, and first exhibiting there in 1866. During his lifetime Barber was regarded as one of Britain's finest animal painters and received commissions from

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

to do paintings of her with grandchildren and dogs,Queen Victoria portrait to go up for auction
/ref> and also the Prince of Wales (later

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria an ...

) and his pets. A number of his portraits are in the

Royal Collection The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...

. He exhibited at the

from 1866 to 1893. In 1883 he was elected a member of the

Royal Institute of Oil Painters The Royal Institute of Oil Painters, also known as ROI, is an association of painters in London, England, and is the only major art society which features work done only in oil. It is a member society of the Federation of British Artists. Histor ...

. Barber became a very popular sporting and animal painter, specialising particularly in sentimental portraits of dogs, often with children. His work ranged from photographically realistic to quick sketches. Although some have regarded his work as overly sentimental, his work remains popular, largely because of his competent painting. Barber received his final commission in 1894 to paint Queen Victoria, with her grandchildren, in her pony-carriage. He died in London soon afterwards. His place as foremost painter of children and pets was taken by Arthur Elsley. Many of Barber's paintings were made into prints, usually in the medium of

photogravure Photogravure (in French ''héliogravure'') is a process for printing photographs, also sometimes used for reproductive intaglio printmaking. It is a photo-mechanical process whereby a copper plate is grained (adding a pattern to the plate) and ...

. He exhibited at the

Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History of the Gallery The Walker Art Gallery's collection ...

and

Manchester Art Gallery Manchester Art Gallery, formerly Manchester City Art Gallery, is a publicly owned art museum on Mosley Street in Manchester city centre. The main gallery premises were built for a learned society in 1823 and today its collection occupies three c ...

. Much of his art is at the

Lady Lever Art Gallery The Lady Lever Art Gallery is a museum founded and built by the industrialist and philanthropist William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme and opened in 1922. The Lady Lever Art Gallery is set in the garden village of Port Sunlight, on the Wirral ...

Port Sunlight Port Sunlight is a model village and suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside. It is located between Lower Bebington and New Ferry, on the Wirral Peninsula. Port Sunlight was built by Lever Brothers to accommodate workers in it ...

Gallery

File:Barber suspense.jpg , ''Suspense,'' 1894 File:Charles Burton Barber1.jpg , ''Off to School,'' 1883 File:Queen-Victoria-with-John-Brown.jpg , ''Queen Victoria with John Brown,'' 1894 File:A special pleader.jpg , ''A Special Pleader'', 1893

References

External links

Barber online
(ArtCyclopedia)
Works in the Royal CollectionBiography & Selected Paintings of Charles Burton BarberPaintings by Barber
(Art Renewal Center Museum)
Girl with dogs
(Painting at the

)
In Disgrace
(Painting sold at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

in 2007 and biography of Barber) {{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Charles Burton 19th-century English painters English male painters English illustrators English watercolourists Dog artists People from Great Yarmouth 1845 births 1894 deaths 19th-century English male artists

Gallery

Further reading

References

External links