Henry Aston Barker facts for kids

Henry Aston Barker (born 1774, died 1856) was a Scottish artist. He was famous for creating huge, circular paintings called panoramas. These paintings made viewers feel like they were standing in the middle of a scene. Henry followed in the footsteps of his father, Robert Barker, who invented panoramas. Henry took over and grew the family business.

Early Life and Art Training

Henry Aston Barker was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He was the younger son of Robert Barker, the inventor of panorama paintings. From a young age, Henry helped his father with his art.

When he was just twelve, Henry started drawing outlines of the city of Edinburgh. He did this from the top of the Calton Hill Observatory. A few years later, he made drawings for a big view of London. This view was seen from a place called Albion Mills. He later turned these drawings into etchings, which are a type of print.

In 1788, Henry moved to London with his father. Soon after, he became a student at the Royal Academy. He continued to be his father's main helper for the panoramas.

Taking Over the Family Business

Henry's father passed away in 1806. Henry then took over the family business. He managed the panorama exhibitions for 20 years. He made them very successful.

Henry often traveled to create his amazing panorama paintings. In 1799, he left England for Turkey. His goal was to make drawings for a panorama of Constantinople (now Istanbul).

While traveling, he met important people. In Palermo, he visited Sir William Hamilton. Sir William was the English ambassador. He introduced Henry to Lord Nelson, a famous naval hero. Nelson told Henry that his panoramas helped keep the fame of his victory at the Battle of the Nile alive longer.

The panorama of Constantinople was shown in 1802. Drawings from this painting were later made into four printed plates.

Traveling for New Panoramas

In 1801, Henry went to Copenhagen to draw for a painting of a battle there. He met Lord Nelson again during this trip. In May 1802, he traveled to Paris to make drawings for a panorama of the city.

After these, many other panoramas were shown. Later ones were often based on drawings by John Burford. Henry and John even shared ownership of a panorama in the Strand area of London.

Henry still traveled a lot. He visited Malta, where he drew the port. This panorama was shown in 1810 and 1812. He also visited Venice, and a panorama of that city was shown in 1819. He even went to Elba, where he met Napoleon.

Waterloo and Later Life

After the famous Battle of Waterloo, Henry visited the battlefield. He also went to Paris. There, he gathered information about the battle from army officers. He published a series of eight etchings from his original sketches of the battlefield. He also published drawings of Gibraltar.

His last major panorama was shown in 1822. It showed the coronation parade of King George IV. The panorama of the Battle of Waterloo was his most successful and profitable work. Henry earned a lot of money from showing this painting.

Around 1802, Henry married the oldest daughter of Rear Admiral William Bligh. Bligh was the captain of the ship Bounty during its famous mutiny. Henry and his wife had two sons and two daughters.

In 1826, Henry handed over the management of his panoramas to John and Robert Burford. He then moved to live first in Cheam, Surrey, and later near Bristol.

Henry Aston Barker passed away on July 19, 1856, near Bristol. His brother, Thomas Edward Barker, also helped with the family business. Later, Thomas started his own rival panorama exhibition with another painter.

Images for kids

• 

  Panorama of Constantinople (1813, aquatint)