Off to School
CHARLES BURTON BARBER
(1845 - 1894)
Off to School
Oil on canvas
20 x 24 inches
Signed and dated 1883

Considered one of England’s finest genre and animal painters, Charles Burton Barber was to achieve great success during his lifetime.  By the age of 18, Barber was in London studying at the Academy Schools.  In 1864 he obtained a silver medal for drawing from the antique and in 1866 he exhibited his first work at the Royal Academy (RA) while living in Notting Hill.

Barber became a highly sought after artist and in the early 1870’s Queen Victoria commissioned him to paint her favorite dogs. In 1883, the year
Off to School was painted, he was elected a member of the Royal Institute of Painters.

In Off to School we find a young, aristocratic, girl standing tall as her St. Bernard escorts her to school.  Her left hand is holding her book strap and her right hand gently grasps her dog’s ear.  The dog’s size and regal posture gives the young girl a feeling of security that is portrayed in her stance and facial expression.  It was barber’s ability to capture these feelings and expressions on canvas that contributed to his great success.

In 1894 Barber received a commission to paint Queen Victoria in her pony-carriage surrounded by her grandchildren.  This would be his final commission as he passed away soon afterwards.


Many of Barber’s paintings were engraved and he was a frequent exhibitor at the Royal Academy; Royal Institute of Oil Painters; Walker Art Gallery; Manchester City Art Gallery and the Fine Art Society.


Below is a complete listing of the works he exhibited at the Royal Academy:

1866: 
Favourite Dogs

1867: First at the Fence
          Top and Tim

1868: Taking the Lead
          The “Doctor” making for the Thames

1869: Old “Clem” and his Friends
          North of the Tweed

1871: More free than welcome
          The Top o’ the Brae
          Sisters of Charity

1872: “To the which place a poor sequester’d stag, etc.”
          Who shall say?

1873: Her Majesty’s favourite Collie
1874: Glen Callater
1875: A Misty Evening – Stag roaring
          “Noble”, Her Majesty’s Collie

1878: Beauty and the Beast
          “Fozzy,” the Prince of Wales’s Dog

1879: Distant Relatives
1880: The New Whip
1881: Chargers of the late Emperor Napoleon and the Prince Imperial
           “First Come, First Served”

1883: “Four in Hand”
1884: Gelert. “The gallant hound, etc.”
1885: “Once Bit, Twice Shy”
1886:  In Disgrace
1888: “Trust”
1889: Siberian Dog, belonging to the Prince of Wales
1890: Sweethearts
1892: Total Abstainers
           A Study
1893: Marco on the Queen’s Breakfast Table

 
INDEX - A VISUAL HISTORY > <
Virtual Exhibition Index next prev
AIRY, ANNA (1882 - 1964)The Little Mirror
BARBER, CHARLES BURTON (1845 - 1894)Off to School
BOLOTOWSKY, ILYA (1907 - 1981)Abstract
BONHEUR, AUGUSTE (1824 - 1884)Ploughing in the Nivernais
BONHEUR, ROSA (1822 - 1899)Couching Lion
BOUDIN, EUGENE LOUIS (1824 - 1898)La bassin, Deauville
BOUGUEREAU, WILLIAM A. (1825 - 1905)La Frileuse
BOUGUEREAU, WILLIAM A. (1825 - 1905)Marchande de grenades (Pomegranate Seller)
CHAIGNEAU, JEAN F. (1830 - 1906)Le Jardin de l'Artiste
CHOULTSE, IVAN F. (b.1877)Nuit de Mars, Russie
CLAYS, PAUL JEAN (1819 - 1900)Shipping on the Scheldt
COALE, GRIFFITH BAILEY (1890 - 1950)The Baltimore Flower Mart - 1915
COROT, JEAN-BAPTISTE-CAMILLE (1796 - 1875)Pâturage dans les marais (Souvenir des environs d'Amiens)
CORTÈS, EDOUARD LEON (1882 - 1969)The Breton Family
DAWSON, MONTAGUE (1895 - 1973)The Pirate's Cove, Wafer Bay, Cocos Island
DIÉTERLE, MARIE (1856 - 1935)Troupeau dans un chemin creux
DRUMMOND, ARTHUR (1871 - 1951)Victorian Fantasy
DUPRÉ, JULES (1811 - 1889)Environs de Plymouth
DUPRÉ, JULIEN (1851 - 1910)La rentrée au village
DUPRE, JULIEN (1851 - 1910)Glaneuses
DUPRE, JULIEN (1851 - 1910)La Prairie
ELSLEY, ARTHUR J. (1860 - 1952)Good Night
FISHER, R.A., WILLIAM MARK (1841-1923)In the Garden
FRERE, CHARLES THEODORE (1814 - 1888)A Caravan Crossing the Desert
GIRARDET, EUGENE ALEXIS (1853 - 1907)Outside the Mosque
GIRARDET, EUGENE ALEXIS (1853 - 1907)The Wailing Wall
HERBO, LEON (1850 - 1907)La Charmeuse
ISRAELS, ISAAC (1865 - 1934)Dancing at the Moulin de la Galette
JOUBERT, LEON (fl.1883 - 1900)Un Coin de Seine a Lavacourt
KNIGHT, DANIEL RIDGWAY (1839 - 1924)A Pensive Moment
KNIGHT, DANIEL RIDGWAY (1839 - 1924)En Vendanges
LUNY, THOMAS (1759 - 1837)Engagement Between Sir George Brydges Rodney and the Spanish Squadron, Commanded by Don Juan de Langara, Near Cape St. Vincent, January 16, 1780
MARCKE DE LUMMEN, EMILE VAN (1827 - 1890)Vaches a Pâture
MOREAU, ADRIEN (1843-1906)Une Mascarade au XVII Siecle
MOSTYN, TOM (1864 - 1930)Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May
MUNIER, EMILE (1840 - 1895)May I Have One Too
MUNIER, EMILE (1840 - 1895)La retour du marché
PERRAULT, LEON J.B. (1832 - 1908)Away From Home
PERRAULT, LEON J.B. (1832 - 1908)Sleeping Putto
PERUGINI , CHARLES EDWARD (1839-1918)The Green Lizard
RIGOLOT, ALBERT GABRIEL (1862 - 1932)Soleil Levant dans la Brume
ROSSI, ALEXANDER MARK (FL.1870 - 1903) May I Have This Dance?
ROSSI, ALEXANDER MARK (FL.1870 - 1903)Forbidden Books
SALMON, ROBERT (1775 - c.1845) The Estridge off Dover
SCHIELE, EGON (1890 - 1918)Semi-nude with Green Stockings from the Back
SCHRYVER, LOUIS MARIE DE (1862 - 1942)Après l’averse; - place du Théâtre-Français
SCHRYVER, LOUIS MARIE DE (1862 - 1942)A Young Man's Fancy
SEIGNAC, GUILLAUME (1870 - 1924)Reflections
SISLEY, ALFRED (1839 - 1899)La Seine à Suresnes
TOPHAM, FRANCIS W.W. (1838 - 1924)Young Girl on a Swing
WARDLE, ARTHUR (1864 – 1949)The Deer-Stealer
WILLIAMS, EDWARD CHARLES (1807 - 1881)The Old Roadside Inn