George Barker (17 July 1844 – 27 November 1894) was a
Canadian-American photographer best known for his photographs of
Niagara Falls.
Niagara Falls, by George Barker
Life
Barker was born in
London,
Canada West in 1844.[1] He first studied landscape painting,[2] switching to photography following a financial setback. He began his photography training with the Western-Canadian photographer
James Egan.[3] At the age of 18, he had opened his own studio in London.[4]
Photography career
Niagara Falls
In July 1862, he made his first trip to
Niagara Falls, New York, where he found a job working for
Platt D. Babbitt.[4][5] By the late 1860s, he had studios in both London and Niagara Falls, with the Niagara studio called Barker's Stereoscopic View Manufactory and Photograph Rooms,[6][7] and had become known nationwide for his
large-format (up to 18 in × 20 in (46 cm × 51 cm)) and
stereographic prints of the falls.[8] In 1866, he won a gold medal for landscape photography at the convention for the Photographers Association of America, held in Saint Louis.[4]
Barker's Niagara studio was destroyed by fire on February 7, 1870,[9] but his
negatives survived.[5]
Florida
Barker was one of the earliest photographers to visit the state of
Florida. At the time, photography in Florida was challenging, as much of the state remained undeveloped, which meant photographers needed to carry their bulky equipment through the
state's wetlands and subtropical jungles, as well as deal with delicate film in hot and humid conditions. Barker spent nearly four years (on and off), from 1886 to 1890, documenting much of northern and central Florida.[10]