Central New York has long been known as a hotbed of creativity. This area has inspired many great artists throughout history. Skaneateles was once home to the renowned artist John Barrow.
John Dodgson Barrow, best known for his landscapes and portraits, was one of Central New York’s more prolific painters during the second half of the nineteenth century. Born in NYC, November 24, 1824, in an age of Romanticism, he was influenced by both the Hudson River School of painters and the romantic New England poets. At the age of fourteen, he was sent to reside with relatives in northeast England to further his education. There he received his first lessons in painting.
Five years later, he rejoined his family in Skaneateles, NY, and continued to paint. He joined the American Art Union in 1850 and exhibited his first painting at the National Academy of Design in 1852. At age 32, he opened a studio in NYC adjoining Charles Loring Elliot’s, which he maintained for 20 years. Barrow returned permanently to Skaneateles in 1877 and was appointed to the faculty of Syracuse University as a professor of painting. He left the University in 1887 and involved himself with painting and town affairs.