Will Barnet was born in Beverly, Massachusetts, and
studied
at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School and then at
the Art
Students League in New York. He cites Daumier as his
first great inspiration at the age of 14, both for "his profound vision
of life and his unequalled draftsmanship." From the earliest years
Barnet valued concept equally with technique. Printmaking gave him a
wider, freer means of expression although painting has remained another
important medium throughout his career.
His work of the 1930s and 1940s deals with the
social themes in the forefront of the depression era, but also the more
personal theme of the mother and child. He later taught art at such
leading
American schools as Yale University, Cornell
University, and
the Art Students League. Among his students at the Art
Students league (1936-1981) nd at Cooper Union (1948 - 1978) and as a
visiting professor at many colleges. Among his students at Copper Union
wer Mark Rothko and Cy Twombly. Christopher B. Crosman, director of the
Farnworth Museum, states the mark of a great tacher is "to insist on
individual integrity and the value of finding one's own vision and
artistic voice." Crosman calss Barnet "one of the art world's great
humanitarians-mentor, exemplar, helping hand, and wise friend (Will
Barnet: The nineties).
A prolific graphic artist, Barnet changed
his style significantly at different points in his career. His
earliest works were influenced by expressionism; they were followed
by abstract works in the 1950s and 1960s, and finally evolved
into more figurative works of silhouetted forms set against
geometrically designed backgrounds. Barnet has worked in most
print media and is recognized for his command of all techniques.
His work has been exhibited in prominent museums and galleries
in the United States and Canada and is included in many prestigious
collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the
Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Boston Museum of Fine
Arts.
Barnet's impressive exhibition record extends
from 1934 to 2002. His work is in the collections of American's major
museums, including the Albright-Knox Art Gallery; Art Institute of
Chicago,; Corcoran Gallery of Art; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum;
Metropolitan Museum of Art; Museum of Modern Art; Museum of Fine Art,
Boston; National Gallery of Art; Phillips Collection; Seattle Art
Museum; and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
Tomar sums up Barnet's long and distinguished
career concluding, " His oeuvre provides a microcosm of modern movements
in the history of American art and of the development of printmaking as
a fine art form from 1930 through the 20th centrury."
Part of the biography by Ann Roulet.