John Dodgson Barrow (November 24, 1824 – December 7, 1906), primarily known for his

landscape paintings Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a coherent composi ...

and portraits, has been regarded as belonging to the second generation of the

Hudson River School The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose aesthetic vision was influenced by Romanticism. The paintings typically depict the Hudson River Valley and the surrounding area, ...

. His subjects were frequently

Central New York Central New York is the central region of New York State, including the following counties and cities: With a population of about 773,606 (2009) and an area of , the region includes the Syracuse metropolitan area. Definitions The New York ...

scenes, mostly around

Skaneateles, New York Skaneateles ( , ) is a town in Onondaga County, New York, United States. The population was 7,112 at the 2020 census. The name is from the Iroquois term for the adjacent ''Skaneateles'' Lake, which means "long lake." The town is on the western ...

, where he lived and worked until moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. A non-profit gallery is devoted to his work inside the library in the village of Skaneateles. Skaneateles Library and John D

Early life and education

Barrow was born in New York City on 24 November 1824 to John Barrow III and Elizabeth Moode Prior Barrow. His family included sister Rebecca Haydock Barrow, four brothers - William, Charles Henry, Edmund Prior Barrow, George and George's wife, Caroline Tyler Barrow. He was the oldest of the 10 children. His family moved to Skaneateles in 1839. At the age of 15 he moved in with relatives in

North East England North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authorit ...

and received lessons in painting. At the age of 19, he rejoined his family in Skaneateles, N.Y. and continued painting. Barrow was never married.

Career

Barrow was influenced by both the Hudson River School of painters and the romantic New England poets at early age. After finishing his studies in England, he returned to Skaneateles and them moved to New York City to begin his career. Barrow joined the

American Art-Union The American Art-Union (1839–1851) was a subscription-based organization whose goal was to enlighten and educate an American public to a national art, while providing a support system for the viewing and sales of art “executed by artists in th ...

in 1850, and exhibited his first painting at the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...

in 1852. Barrow opened his New York City studio in 1856, at the age of 32, in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

, near that of

Charles Loring Elliott Charles Loring Elliott (1812–1868) was an American painter known for his portraits. He was active in central New York for 10 years as a young man, then in 1845 moved to New York City to pursue his career. He was elected to the National Academy ...

and other Hudson Valley School landscape painters. He was influenced by

George Inness George Inness (May 1, 1825 – August 3, 1894) was a prominent United States, American landscape painting, landscape painter. Now recognized as one of the most influential American artists of the nineteenth century, Inness was influenced b ...

while he lived in New York City. Between 1852 and 1879, his paintings were included in exhibits at the

Union League Club The Union League Club is a private social club in New York City that was founded in 1863 in affiliation with the Union League. Its fourth and current clubhouse is located at 38 East 37th Street on the corner of Park Avenue, in the Murray Hill ...

of New York City, the

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.Boston Athenæum The Boston Athenaeum is one of the oldest independent libraries in the United States. It is also one of a number of subscription library, membership libraries, for which patrons pay a yearly subscription fee to use Athenaeum services. The instit ...

, and in 19 Annual Exhibitions of the National Academy. Most notably, Barrow painted

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

before the

Cooper Union address The Cooper Union speech or address, known at the time as the Cooper Institute speech, was delivered by Abraham Lincoln on February 27, 1860, at Cooper Union, in New York City. Lincoln was not yet the Republican nominee for the presidency, as the ...

in New York City in February 1860. While most of his income came from commissioned portraits, Barrow also drew landscapes covering pastoral life. Many of these oil paintings focused on scenes around the

Skaneateles lake Skaneateles Lake ( , ) is one of the Finger Lakes in central New York in the United States. The name ''Skaneateles'' means ''long lake'' in one of the local Iroquoian languages. The lake is sometimes referred to as "The Roof Garden of the Lakes" ...

and the surrounding areas, where Barrow lived during the summers. Barrow also painted portraits of prominent citizens in the Skaneateles area. He presented some of his paintings to Syracuse public libraries. He designed the Skaneateles Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument (1895) at Lake View Cemetery. He also designed the addition to the village's public library that houses his art gallery. On 8 October 1900, Barrow donated his gallery to Skaneateles library along with financial assistance for erecting a building. Today, the gallery contains 426 paintings, most in the original gilded frames, of which around 300 are on display at any one time.

Other activities

Barrow retired early and returned permanently to Skaneateles in 1877. In the same year, he was appointed to the faculty of

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

as a professor of painting in the college of fine arts. He served for two years. He also served as the president of the Skaneateles Savings Bank and director of Onondaga Historical Association until his death. On July 4, 1876, John D. Barrow delivered

centennial {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

address in Skaneateles recounting the history of the village up to that time. In 1891, he had it printed in Syracuse as a 20-page book. Just before his death he published a 30 poem collection titled ''Around Skaneateles Lake'' which was edited by

William Martin Beauchamp William Martin Beauchamp (March 25, 1830 – 1925) was an American ethnologist and Episcopal clergyman. He published several works on the archeology and ethnology of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) in New York. Early life and education Beauchamp was ...

Death

Barrow died in Skaneateles on December 7, 1906 at the age of 83.Obituary, ''The Democrat'', December 13, 1906. He left his estate to his two sisters.

References

External links