Lucette Elizabeth Barker (baptized 29 July 1816, died 21 January 1905) was a British painter of portraits, genre and animal subjects.

Biography

Barker was born in Thirkleby in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

to Thomas Barker, a vicar, and his wife Jane Flower. Lucette Barker had three sisters, two of whom also became artists while the third was a composer. Although Thomas Barker taught his daughters to paint and draw and arranged private art lessions for them he was opposed to them working for a living. Despite this, Lucette Barker did undertake commercial work. She provided illustrations for a 1851 book, ''The Fairy Godmothers and Other Tales'' by Margaret Getty and exhibited several paintings in public. Between 1853 and 1874, Barker showed four paintings at the

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

, one at the

British Institution The British Institution (in full, the British Institution for Promoting the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom; founded 1805, disbanded 1867) was a private 19th-century society in London formed to exhibit the works of living and dead artists; it ...

and several elsewhere, including at the Dudley Gallery. After living in

Thirsk Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England; it is known for its racecourse and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby. History Archeological finds indicate there was a settlement in Thirsk aro ...

, in 1855 Lucette moved to London to live with her married sister, Laura. In London she moved in the artistic circles associated with

Holland House Holland House, originally known as Cope Castle, was an early Jacobean architecture, Jacobean country house in Kensington, London, situated in a country estate that is now Holland Park. It was built in 1605 by the diplomat Sir Walter Cope. The b ...

, which included the actress

Ellen Terry Dame Alice Ellen Terry (27 February 184721 July 1928) was a leading English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born into a family of actors, Terry began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and toured ...

and the artist

George Frederic Watts George Frederic Watts (23 February 1817 – 1 July 1904) was a British painter and sculptor associated with the Symbolism (arts), Symbolist movement. Watts became famous in his lifetime for his allegorical works, such as ''Hope (Watts), Hop ...

. After the 1870s Barker appears to have stopped exhibiting in public but continued to paint, producing presentation books of sketches and watercolours for family and friends. Barker, and the widowed Laura, retired to

Coleshill, Buckinghamshire Coleshill (formerly Stoke) is a village and civil parish within Chiltern district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is south of Amersham and north of Beaconsfield. History The village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'Coll's hill', t ...

, near Amersham where she died in 1905.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Lucette 1816 births 1905 deaths 19th-century English painters 19th-century English women artists Artists from North Yorkshire English women painters Sibling artists 19th-century British women painters