Born in Richmond in 1869, architect J. Stewart Barney studied at Columbia University and the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Barney designed many buildings and churches in New York City and also in his native Virginia. He retired from architecture in 1915 to paint, but returned to architecture in the 1920s to develop a plan for the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg. His plan combined the preservation of existing structures with the design of new buildings sympathetic to the existing historic fabric. In 1924, Barney took a vacation from the Williamsburg project, largely out of frustration at the lack of progress, and went to White Sulphur Springs, Virginia for a rest. It was during this time he painted these images of the White Sulphur Springs area. Barney never returned to the Williamsburg project and died the next year, never knowing whether or not his plan would be fulfilled.

Biography courtesy of The Charleston Renaissance Gallery, www.antiquesandfineart.com/charleston