George Barker (1844–1894) was a Canadian-American photographer best known for his photographs of Niagara Falls. Barker was born in London, Ontario. He first studied landscape painting, switching to photography following a financial setback. He began his photography training with the Western-Canadian photographer James Egan. At the age of 18, he had opened his own studio in London. In July 1862, he made his first trip to Niagara Falls, New York. He had studios in both London and Niagara Falls, with the Niagara studio called Barker's Stereoscopic View Manufactory and Photograph Rooms, and had become known nationwide for his large-format and stereographic prints of the falls. In 1866, he won a gold medal for landscape photography at the convention for the Photographers Association of America, held in Saint Louis. Barker's Niagara studio was destroyed by fire on February 7, 1870, but his negatives survived. In addition to his well-known landscape photographs, Barker traveled the United States, documenting natural disasters such as the Louisville Tornado of 1890 and the 1889 Johnstown flood. When he died in 1894 of Bright's disease, he was described as "the eminent photographer of Niagara Falls". Out of respect for him, the organizers have named the exhibition, George Barker Exhibition.
The 1st George Barker exhibition is with the patronage of the Federation Internationale de l'Art Photographique (FIAP) 2023/xxx and the recognition by the Photographic Society of America (PSA) 2023-574 & Salon.Photo 2023-079. The Exhibition will be conducted in accordance with the rules of the PSA, FIAP & Salon.Photo. Acceptances obtained in this salon will be taken into account for FPC, Salon.Photo & FIAP Distinctions and PSA Star Rating listings in the worldwide PSA Who’s Who of Photography.