BARKER, English family of artists
They settled in Bath c. 1783. The earliest member of the family active as an artist was Benjamin Barker the Elder (?1720-1793), known principally for his paintings of horses. Of his four sons, Thomas Barker, Benjamin Barker the Younger (1776-1838) and Joseph Barker (1782-1809) became landscape painters. Thomas had eight children, of whom Thomas Jones Barker became best known, though Benjamin Barker (1817-1889), John Joseph Barker (1824-1904) and Octavius William Barker (b. 1826) also painted genre and historical subjects. The family dominated the art world in Bath throughout the 19th century, although only Thomas and Thomas Jones achieved national success.
