James Barry

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James Barry was born in Cork on 11th October, 1741. When he was young, he studied art in Cork and Dublin. He travelled to Bologna and Rome in Italy between 1766 and 1771. There he studied the art of the old masters and he became very interested in history painting.

Many other artists at the time painted portraits of the wealthy to earn money. However, Barry's first love was for history painting.

Barry lived in poverty for most of his life and was not easy to get on with. In 1782 he became Professor of Painting at the Royal Academy. However, he was later expelled.

Barry's most famous works were painted for the Great Room of the Royal Society of Arts in London. He spent nearly six years working on six huge paintings.

He died in 1806 and is buried in St Paul's Cathedral in London.