H Walter Barnett: Women of Note

Past display archive
15 November 2010 - 8 May 2011

Room 29

Free

Born in St. Kilda, Melbourne, Australia, H. Walter Barnett started his photographic career aged thirteen in 1875, as an apprentice to photographers Stewart & Co. He established his first commercial studio in Hobart in 1880, and in 1885 moved to Sydney to set up Falk Studios.

Barnett moved to London in 1897, and opened a studio at 1 Park Side, Knightsbridge, overlooking Hyde Park. With E.O. Hoppé, he became one of the most significant portrait photographers in Edwardian London. In January 1904, Barnett recorded 610 of his famous sitters in the brochure A List of Well Known People Photographed by H. Walter Barnett. His portraits of men and women in the British and Allied Forces formed the exhibition Warriors All in 1917.

In 1920, Barnett retired to Dieppe, France, selling his London studio to photographer Oscar Hardee. The studio continued trading under Barnett’s name until 1927, when the business was bought by photographer Dudley Glanfield. Barnett died in Nice on 16 January 1934. The vintage prints shown in this display are part of a large archive of over 500 works by Barnett acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in 1994 and 1997.