Thomas Barker

Thomas Barker was an artist active primarily between 1769 and 1813, a professional period spanning the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The body of work preserved in major museum collections indicates a strong professional engagement with drawing and printmaking, although his recorded output also includes a painting.

Fifteen works attributed to Barker are currently represented across public collections, a body of material comprising eight prints, six drawings, and a singular painting. These holdings allow for scholarly review of his varied media and subject matter. Notable compositions include the study Figures in a Landscape, which exists as a recto and verso document, indicating a focus on process and preliminary design. Other documented titles include the detailed landscape Farmhouse in the Mountains with Cows in Foreground, the atmospheric genre scene The Halt at the Spring, and the figure study Pierrette.

Barker’s work is preserved in significant American institutions, establishing him as a documented figure of the period. His legacy is held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery of Art, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. The preservation of these Thomas Barker prints and drawings ensures that his graphic output remains available for study. Due to the age of the material, much of his artistic production is now in the public domain, making high-quality prints accessible for academic research and public exhibition.