Will Barnet

Will Barnet (1911–2012) was an American painter and printmaker known for his elegant, stylized depictions of family life, animals, and abstract forms. Born in Beverly, Massachusetts, he studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston before continuing at the Art Students League of New York, where he later taught. Barnet’s early work was influenced by Social Realism, but he later embraced abstraction and figurative modernism. His work has been exhibited in major institutions, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 2011, the National Academy Museum in New York held a retrospective celebrating his 100-year career. Barnet’s refined compositions and masterful use of color made him a significant figure in 20th-century American art. He continued creating art well past his 100th birthday. Barnet passed away in 2012, leaving a lasting legacy in painting and printmaking.