Lucette Elizabeth Barker (1816–1905) was born in Thirkleby in Yorkshire to Thomas Barker, a vicar, amateur musician and painter, and his wife Jane Flower. She had three sisters, two of whom also became artists while the third was a composer. She had a cultured upbringing: Thomas Barker taught his daughters to paint and draw and arranged private art lessons for them, and numerous musicians would visit their home, including the violinist and composer Niccolò Paganini. Thomas Barker was, however, opposed to Lucette working for a living, but in spite of this she did undertake commercial work. In 1851 she provided illustrations for the book 'The Fairy Godmothers and Other Tales' by Margaret Getty, and between 1853 and 1874, she exhibited at the Royal Academy, the British Institution and the Dudley Gallery. In 1855 Lucette moved to London to live with her married sister, Laura, who was a composer. In London she moved in the artistic circles associated with Holland House, which included the actress Ellen Terry and the artist George Frederic Watts. Visitors to their London home included Dickens, Thackeray, Tennyson, Henry Irving and Lewis Carroll.
