George Randolph Barse Jr. (1861–1938) was an American artist and illustrator.

Born in Detroit, Barse attended public schools in Kansas City

Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

 and went to Paris in 1878, where he spent five years training at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts

École des Beaux-Arts

École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...

 in the atelier of Alexandre Cabanel

Alexandre Cabanel

Alexandre Cabanel was a French painter.- Biography :Cabanel was born in Montpellier, Hérault. He painted historical, classical and religious subjects in the academic style. He was also well known as a portrait painter...

, and at the Académie Julien under Jules Joseph Lefebvre

Jules Joseph Lefebvre

Jules Joseph Lefebvre was a French figure painter.Lefebvre entered the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in 1852 and was a pupil of Léon Cogniet. He won the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1861. Between 1855 and 1898, he exhibited 72 portraits in the Paris Salon...

 and Gustave Boulanger

Gustave Boulanger

Gustave Clarence Rodolphe Boulanger was a French figure painter known for his Neo-Grec style. He was born at Paris, studied with Delaroche and Jollivet, and in 1849 took the Prix de Rome. His paintings are prime examples of academic art of the time, particularly history painting...

.

Barse returned to the United States for a few years, partly in New York and partly in the Texas panhandle

Texas Panhandle

The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a rectangular area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east...

, before returning to Europe in 1889. His six years in Italy included his marriage to well-known Italian model Rosina Ferrara

Rosina Ferrara

Rosina Ferrara was an Italian girl from the island of Capri, who became the favorite muse of American expatriate artist John Singer Sargent....

, muse of John Singer Sargent

John Singer Sargent

John Singer Sargent was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings...

 and others, in 1891. They were married until her death from pneumonia in 1934.

In 1895 Barse received his best-known commission, eight allegorical panels for the Library of Congress

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...

; the same year he received a first prize from the National Academy of Design

National Academy of Design

The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...

. He also taught a class in life drawing at the Art Students League of New York

Art Students League of New York

The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...

. From 1904 he was based in Katonah, New York

Katonah, New York

Katonah, New York is one of three unincorporated hamlets within the town of Bedford, Westchester County, New York, United States.-History:Katonah is named for Chief Katonah, an American Indian from whom the land of Bedford was purchased by a group of English colonists...

.

Barse committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning

Carbon monoxide poisoning

Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs after enough inhalation of carbon monoxide . Carbon monoxide is a toxic gas, but, being colorless, odorless, tasteless, and initially non-irritating, it is very difficult for people to detect...

 four years after his wife's death. As a result of his friendship with Hattie Bishop Speed

Hattie Bishop Speed

Hattie Bishop Speed was a pianist, humanist, and philanthropist who championed music and the arts in Louisville, Kentucky.Born Harriett Theresa Bishop in Louisville on February 12, 1858, Hattie attended Louisville and Boston private schools before going to Europe in 1886. Her music education...

, many of his works are held at the Speed Art Museum

Speed Art Museum

The Speed Art Museum, originally known as the J.B. Speed Memorial Museum, now colloquially referred to as the Speed by locals, is the oldest, largest, and foremost museum of art in Kentucky...

in Louisville, Kentucky.