A native of England, Robert John Barnard specialized in art education, earning a reputation as a dedicated lecturer on the topic in the United States and the United Kingdom. He championed art in everyday life through his mentorship of art educators, and was an imaginative professor who worked to develop his students’ potential.
Barnard’s birthplace was Northampton, located about sixty miles northwest of London. At the age of seventeen he joined the British Army and became a commissioned officer in the Royal Engineers; he was delegated creative and destructive tasks such as building bridges and blowing them up. After six years in the military, Barnard pursued studies at Bristol University and the Burderop Park Training College in Wiltshire. In 1948 he earned a certificate in art from the Ministry of Education.
In 1958 Barnard emigrated to the States in order to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He became a naturalized American citizen in 1974, earning a masters degree and remaining at the university until his retirement in 1989. He taught courses in painting, ceramics, and art education, and served as director of the art education program. Barnard was the first president of the North Carolina Art Education Association whose goals included establishing sound methods and philosophies for teaching visual arts and helping students unlock their creativity.
Paintings by Barnard are expressive, usually colorful and non-representational. On occasion he also experimented with different formats and shapes. In 1986 he completed a large-scale painting for the Friday Conference Center at the University of North Carolina. Acrylic with graphite highlights and measuring ten-feet tall, the painting's abstract composition floats against a sea of blue and consists of swirling shapes overlaid with a repeated pattern of short black lines. Scholars have suggested some of Barnard’s imagery was derived from his experiences during World War II, as well as his passion for motor racing and contemporary music.