Walter H. Barnett was a successful society portraitist at the beginning of the twentieth century. His sitters ranged from leading artists such as Auguste Rodin and Walter Sickert to prominent politicians including Sir Austen Chamberlain and Lord Balfour. Barnett’s London studio was in a prime location in Knightsbridge, overlooking Hyde Park, and here he photographed many of his sitters by electric light.

This signed and dated circular photo-ceramic portrait of a woman and girl was produced by Barnett in 1901, the same year he co-founded the Professional Photographer’s Association.