Joseph Barber
Encyclopedia
Joseph Barber was an English
landscape
painter
and art teacher
.
Born in Newcastle upon Tyne
, Barber moved to Birmingham
in the 1770s, where he worked painting papier-mâché
and japanned
goods. By the mid-1880s he was well established as the town's first drawing master, with an academy training artists on Great Charles Street. His pupils there included David Cox
, William Radclyffe
and Samuel Lines
, who was to form his own academy in Newhall Street
in 1807.
Barber had five children. His two sons Vincent Barber
and Charles Barber both trained as painters in his academy, with Vincent taking over its running after his father's death in 1811. His daughters Maria, Eliza and Ann Matilda also exhibited paintings and taught private students. Ann Matilda was the mother of theologian
and Bishop of Durham Joseph Barber Lightfoot
.
Charles and Vincent Barber, with the elder Barber's former pupil Samuel Lines
, set up a separate academy of life drawing in 1809, that would eventually evolve into the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
and Birmingham School of Art
.
Joseph Barber's own work consists largely of drawing
s and watercolours of rustic landscape scenes - including pictures of North Wales
, which he was the first of many Birmingham artists to paint. His works feature in the collections of the British Museum
, the Victoria and Albert Museum
and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
landscape
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and art teacher
Art education
Art education is the area of learning that is based upon the visual, tangible arts—drawing, painting, sculpture, and design in jewelry, pottery, weaving, fabrics, etc. and design applied to more practical fields such as commercial graphics and home furnishings...
.
Born in Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, Barber moved to Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
in the 1770s, where he worked painting papier-mâché
Papier-mâché
Papier-mâché , alternatively, paper-mache, is a composite material consisting of paper pieces or pulp, sometimes reinforced with textiles, bound with an adhesive, such as glue, starch, or wallpaper paste....
and japanned
Japanning
Japanning describes the European imitation of Asian lacquerwork, originally used on furniture. The word originated in the 17th century.- Japanned :Japanned is most often a heavy black lacquer, almost like enamel paint...
goods. By the mid-1880s he was well established as the town's first drawing master, with an academy training artists on Great Charles Street. His pupils there included David Cox
David Cox (artist)
- David Cox Junior :David Cox had a son of the same name who followed his calling as a watercolour painter. He was born in Dulwich, but educated in Hereford. He exhibited in London from 1827, although today he is known mainly through association with his father. He died in Streatham on 4 December...
, William Radclyffe
William Radclyffe
William Radclyffe was an English engraver and painter.Born in Birmingham and self educated, he was apprenticed to a letter engraver and studied drawing under Joseph Barber with his cousin John Pye...
and Samuel Lines
Samuel Lines
Samuel Lines was an English designer, painter and art teacher.A significant figure in the development of art in Birmingham during its rapid growth in the early nineteenth century, Lines pioneered the teaching of drawing and painting in the town and was one of the founders of the life drawing...
, who was to form his own academy in Newhall Street
Newhall Street
Newhall Street is a street located in Birmingham, England.Newhall Street stretches from Colmore Row in the city centre by St Phillip's Cathedral in a north-westerly direction towards the Jewellery Quarter. Originally the road was the driveway to New Hall occupied by the Colmore family...
in 1807.
Barber had five children. His two sons Vincent Barber
Vincent Barber
Joseph Vincent Barber , known as Vincent Barber, was an English landscape painter and art teacher.Born in Birmingham, the son of artist and drawing master Joseph Barber, he took over the running of his father's drawing academy in Great Charles Street on the elder Barber's death in 1811...
and Charles Barber both trained as painters in his academy, with Vincent taking over its running after his father's death in 1811. His daughters Maria, Eliza and Ann Matilda also exhibited paintings and taught private students. Ann Matilda was the mother of theologian
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and Bishop of Durham Joseph Barber Lightfoot
Joseph Barber Lightfoot
Joseph Barber Lightfoot was an English theologian and Bishop of Durham, usually known as J.B. Lightfoot....
.
Charles and Vincent Barber, with the elder Barber's former pupil Samuel Lines
Samuel Lines
Samuel Lines was an English designer, painter and art teacher.A significant figure in the development of art in Birmingham during its rapid growth in the early nineteenth century, Lines pioneered the teaching of drawing and painting in the town and was one of the founders of the life drawing...
, set up a separate academy of life drawing in 1809, that would eventually evolve into the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
Royal Birmingham Society of Artists
The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists or RBSA is a learned society of artists and an art gallery based in the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham, England. it is both a registered charity. and a registered company The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists or RBSA is a learned society of artists and an...
and Birmingham School of Art
Birmingham School of Art
The Birmingham School of Art was a municipal art school based in the centre of Birmingham, England. Although the organisation was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and is now part of Birmingham City University's Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, its Grade I listed building on...
.
Joseph Barber's own work consists largely of drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
s and watercolours of rustic landscape scenes - including pictures of North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
, which he was the first of many Birmingham artists to paint. His works feature in the collections of the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
, the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
External links
- Pen and Ink Drawing - Thatched Barn, Handsworth (Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery)
- Dudley Castle Mill Basin (The Art Fund)