Rose Barton — Watercolourist of Dublin and London
Irish Artist · 1856–1929
Rose Barton
Rain-bright streets and quiet gardens — one of the finest watercolourists Ireland ever produced, at home in Dublin and London alike.
Going to the Levée at Dublin Castle — Dublin society and weather, in luminous watercolour.
The Story
Rose Barton made the ordinary luminous. Rain-wet Dublin streets, park afternoons, the particular light on stone — she caught them all in watercolour with a tonal delicacy and compositional intelligence that place her among the very finest Irish watercolourists.
She was born on 21 April 1856 in Dublin, the daughter of Augustine Barton, a wealthy lawyer of Rochestown, Co. Tipperary. Educated privately, she travelled to Brussels after her father's death in 1874 for her first formal lessons, then studied in London under the watercolourist Paul Jacob Naftel. Her work entered the Royal Academy show in 1884.
She divided her life between Ireland and England, and her subjects followed — the streets and castle of Dublin, the parks and river of London. A cousin of the writer Edith Somerville and a lifelong friend of the painter Mildred Anne Butler, she became a member of the Royal Watercolour Society and was celebrated for her illustrated books of both cities.
She died on 10 October 1929 in London. Her work hangs today in the National Gallery of Ireland, the Hugh Lane, and the Ulster Museum — a major figure in Irish art whose quiet, atmospheric brilliance is only now getting its full due.
Timeline
- 1856 — Born 21 April in Dublin.
- 1874 — Travels to Brussels; receives her first painting lessons.
- c.1880 — Studies in London under Paul Jacob Naftel.
- 1884 — Her work is included in the Royal Academy exhibition.
- 1890s–1900s — Celebrated for her watercolours and illustrated books of Dublin and London.
- 1929 — Dies 10 October in London.
Where She Painted
A life split between two capitals. Click a pin to see the painting.
Dublin · London — the two cities she made her own.
Featured Works
Collector's Guide
Her Dublin is captured beautifully in Going to the Levée at Dublin Castle and The Bedford Tower. For her London, the atmospheric Houses of Parliament & Westminster is a highlight, and the delicate Here We Dance, Lubin Lubin shows her lighter, storybook side. Part of our full Irish Art Prints collection.
The Barton Lover's Gift Guide
Three ways into her world, at three price points.
- The Bedford Tower, Dublin Castle — art print · from €72
- Going to the Levée at Dublin Castle — art print · from €75
- Here We Dance, Lubin Lubin — art print · from €95
Discover Similar Artists
Walter Osborne — fellow painter of Dublin street life. · Samuel Frederick Brocas — the earlier topographer of the city. · Sarah Purser — her great contemporary in Irish art.