PAUL E. BARR

Paul E. Barr (1892-1953)

Born and raised in Tipton County, Indiana, Paul Barr was a painter of North American and European scenes including architecture, southwestern landscapes, mountain views from the Rockies, Alps, Catskills, Grand Tetons and national parks. For twenty-five years, Paul Barr headed the Art Department at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. He painted in more than ten countries and had studios in Paris, New York City, Colorado and Indiana. His art education included the Art Institute of Chicago, the Sorbonne University of Paris and universities in Colorado, Chicago and Indiana. 

Paul Barr developed an early interest in art and In 1904, at the age of eleven, exhibited some of his work at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition at the World’s Fair in St. Louis. In 1916, he became an annual exhibitor at the John Herron galleries in Indianapolis and from that time was prolific with exhibitions with the Hoosier Salon at Marshall Field’s in Chicago and other venues including the Fort Wayne Art Museum.

Barr held the position with the North Dakota University Art Department from 1928 to his death in 1953. He was sixty-one and died from a cerebral hemorrhage. His work is in the North Dakota Governor’s Office and in the corporate collection of International Business Machines (IBM). HIs papers are in the collection of the University of North Dakota.