Born in Cumberland, Barrow has lived most of his life in London; more than thirty years ago he moved to Tite Street, where he works in a studio building occupied at various times by Whistler, Sargent, Glyn Philpot and Augustus John. After a brief period at art school, he worked for a year as an apprentice in the restoration department of the National Gallery, followed by several years studying in Florence. Since then he has travelled extensively to paint and has held exhibitions in New York, throughout the Middle East, and regularly in London. Painting only in oils, he is best known for his town and landscapes as well as paintings of country houses. He is also a distinguished painter of interiors and conversation pieces. He has been President of the Chelsea Arts Society for the last ten years, and has exhibited at the Royal Academy many times.