Robert Barber: A Retrospective

Artist, WWII Navy veteran, TUSD educator and long-time Tucson resident Robert Barber has been producing art since his teens, and at 92 years of age he remains inspired and continues to paint and draw every day. Barber received an undergraduate degree from the Minneapolis School of Art (now the Minneapolis School of Art Design) and an MFA from the University of Minnesota, where he gained a deep, wide-ranging intellectual sophistication regarding art theory, history and practice, as evidenced in his vast trove of work.

Barber served in the U.S. Navy during World War II as a surgical nurse aboard the transport ship the U.S.S. De Grasse in Okinawa and Saipan when fighting was heaviest. Upon coming to Tucson in 1956, he taught in the TUSD system for more than thirty years. It is always an honor to present the work of extraordinary artists, and in the case of Robert Barber, the added privilege of celebrating the life and work of such an outstanding citizen adds to our delight in having this opportunity to share his work with the public. Telling his story of art is a profound privilege, a great responsibility, and a humbling honor forMOCA Tucson.

Images by Jack Kulawik Kerry Schuss.

Robert Barber Didactics and Essay