Tina Barney is an American photographer known for her large-scale color portraits of family and friends. Born in 1945 in New York City, she grew up in a wealthy family and was exposed to the art world from an early age. She attended the Rhode Island School of Design, where she studied painting and photography. After graduating in 1967, she moved to Europe and began working as a freelance photographer for magazines such as Vogue and Harper's Bazaar.
In the late 1970s, Barney returned to the United States and began photographing her family and friends in their homes. Her work was characterized by its large format, vivid colors, and intimate subject matter. She often used natural light to create a sense of intimacy between her subjects and the viewer. Her work has been exhibited widely throughout the United States and Europe, including at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, The National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Tate Modern in London, and many others.
Barney has published several books featuring her photographs including Family Values (1989), Theater Of Manners (1994), Social Studies (1999), Women’s Studies (2002), Domestic Vacations (2005), Road Trip (2008) and most recently A Room Of Their Own (2013). In addition to her photography career, Barney has also taught workshops at various institutions including Yale University School of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Parsons School of Design, International Center for Photography in New York City, Massachusetts College of Art & Design in Boston MA., California Institute for the Arts in Valencia CA., University of California at Santa Barbara CA., University of Arizona Tucson AZ., University of Colorado Boulder CO., University College Dublin Ireland among others.
Barney’s work has been featured on numerous television programs such as CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood; PBS’s American Masters; BBC’s Imagine; ABC News Nightline; NBC’s Today Show; CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360°; Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends; MSNBC’s Morning Joe; HBO Documentary Films' Private Dicks: Men Exposed; Showtime's Masters Of Photography series; A&E's Biography series; Bravo's Work Of Art: The Next Great Artist series among others.
In addition to her numerous awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship Award (1993) and a Lucie Award for Outstanding Achievement In Fine Art Photography (2009), Barney was also inducted into the International Photography Hall Of Fame And Museum In Oklahoma City OK., USA on October 15th 2011.