John Barnes

John Stuart Lloyd Barnes (28 June 1920 – 1 June 2008) was a British film historian specialising in the early history of cinema. He co-founded the Barnes Museum of Cinematography with his brother William. The museum was one of the first museums devoted to film and became a focal point for scholars worldwide. Barnes is best known for a five-volume history of film titled The Beginnings of the Cinema in England, 1894-1901. He was survived by his partner, brother, and son William

Early life Barnes and his twin brother William (Bill) were born in London in 1920. Their father, who was involved in the family business of the piano makers W.H. Barnes, died when they were 12 years old. Seeing the children stuck in the house with grieving adults, an uncle gave them a 9.5 mm film projector as a distraction and the brothers’ interest in film was born. Once they acquired a camera, John and Bill spent their holidays making films about coastal and rural life in Kent and Cornwall. depict aspects of the fishing industry in St Ives and around the Cornish coast. The films were specially commended by the Board of the Amateur Cine World and are now recognized as an important documentary record of the time.

Cinematographic works The Fatal Shot (1933) Chilham (A Kentish Village) (1934) Kidnapped. Black Feet Indians (1935) A Filmic Review No: 1 (ca. 1934 - 1935) Lenham (A Kentish Village) (1936) O’ Famous Kent (1936) A Filmic Review No. 2 (1934-1936) The Wheat Harvest (1935) Here and There [Afternoon Tea with Sickert] (1937) Paris (1937) The Gem of the Cornish Riviera (1936) Venice (ca. 1938) In the Garden of England (ca.1938) With the Gypsies in Kent (1938) Seaside and Coastal Views (ca. 1939) Cornish Nets (1938) Soho Fair (1939)

Education John and Bill attended the Canford School in Wimborne, Dorset. Their interest in film continued during their school years where they established and ran the school cinema. It was during this time that they began collecting Victorian optical toys and associated literature. They opened a second-hand bookshop specializing in books devoted to the moving image and John began to research and write on the histories associated with their collection.

Personal life In 1997, John and Bill were awarded the Jean Mitry prize by the Pordenone Silent Film Festival in Italy for their distinguished contribution to silent cinema and in 2006 both brothers received an honorary doctorate from the University of Stirling in Scotland.

John, a pioneer in his field, devoted his life to the history of cinema. He was an independent scholar-collector who faced innumerable battles with publishers and institutions. John passionately defended his own interpretations of the history of film. He was the epitome of the independent researcher and worked steadfastly for decades without any institutional support. His knowledge, unfailing help, and sturdy friendship were valued by scholars and enthusiasts around the world.

“While other areas of academic cinema history seem doomed to atrophy, as films that were once entertaining no longer entertain, Victorian cinema is alive with debate and discovery … This is perhaps Barnes’ greatest achievement, to have achieved the trick that film has always claimed to do, to abolish time.” urbanora

Barnes died from cancer in June 2008, aged 87.