Career
He trained in London as an architect, but relocated to New Zealand in 1883 because of his asthma. In 1885, he arrived in Honolulu aboard the Explorer. He remained in Honolulu, where he painted and gave art lessons, until his death on 14 May 1893 at age 37.
The Bishop Museum (Honolulu), the Honolulu Museum of Art and ʻIolani Palace are among the public collctions holding paintings by Barnfield.