This sent Barnett on a lifelong journey. Traveling on two parallel paths, he pursued his craft as a practicing artist, while developing his eye as a savvy collector and ultimately a dealer in a competitive marketplace.
Born in Wisconsin in 1933, Barnett credits his parents with supporting his interest in art. “I was encouraged from age five to be an artist. My father had a textile manufacturing company in Wisconsin. I was supposed to go into the family business, but I majored in fine art and art history instead.”