Benjamin Barker II

Part of the dynasty of Welsh painters descended from Benjamin, foreman and enamel painter at the japan works in Pontypool, Benjamin and his older brother Thomas (1769-1847) were both born in Pontypool and later moved to Bath. While their father had specialized in sporting and animal subjects, Thomas and Benjamin gained fame as landscape painters. Thomas painted in the manner of Gainsborough, and his landscapes and rustic subjects were in much demand. Both brothers exhibited at the Royal Academy and the British Institution, and with the Royal Society of British Artists. Benjamin did not find the same success as Thomas, but his English Landscape Scenery, a volume of forty-eight aquatints published in 1824 was well considered.