A delightful genre painting of a young girl with a cat by Charles Burton Barber. A girl with blonde hair can be seen leaning back against a table with a saucer of milk in her hand. Meanwhile, a tabby cat rubs its head against her arm as she holds the dish away from it. This painting was exhibited at the Royal Institute of Painters in Oil in 1883, no. 203. A sketch of the painting appeared in the illustrated catalogue of the exhibition and was also reproduced in The Graphic on 15 December, 1883, p20. The painting received positive reviews from art critics at the time.

Charles Burton Barber was born in Great Yarmouth in 1845 to Charles and Elizabeth Lake Barber (née Blowers). His father was a printer and bookseller who later joined his wife’s family firm of upholsters, Blowers and Barber and was able to give his children a good education. At the age of 18 he left Great Yarmouth to study at the Royal Academy where he won a silver medal for drawing in 1864. In 1866, he began exhibiting at the RA with a work entitled ‘Favourite Dogs’ from an address in Notting Hill.

He married Mary Margaret Williams on 8 April, 1875 at Marylebone. The couple moved to 1 Titchfield Villa in Marylebone where they started a family. By the time of his marriage, he had begun using his middle name of Burton to sign his works, most likely to distinguish himself from another artist with the same name. Although he started his career painting sporting scenes and animals in landscapes, he became best known as a painter of children and domestic animals.

His work attracted the patronage of well-known animal lovers including Queen Victoria who commissioned him to paint many portraits of her grandchildren and her dogs. A number of these works were exhibited at the RA including ‘Her Majesty’s Favourite Collie’ in 1873 and ‘Fozzy’ the Prince of Wales’s dog in 1878. As well as exhibiting at the RA he also exhibited at Royal Institute of Oil Painters, the Walker Art Gallery and Manchester Art Gallery. In 1883 he was elected a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters.

Barber died on 27 November 1874, at the age of only 49 after having recently completed his final work, a commission for Queen Victoria of her grandchildren in her pony carriage. The Queen sent a telegram to his family to express her sympathy as well as a wreath to his funeral. A number of his works are still held in the Royal Collection as well as by art galleries and museums including the Cornwall Museum, Kirklees Museum, Lady Lever Art Gallery, New Art Gallery Walsall, Reading Museum, Touchstones Rochdale and the Wilson.

© Benton Fine Art