Photographer Barbara Karant is nationally known in the design, art, and architecture communities for the artistic beauty and the level of photographic quality she demands in her work. Trained at RISD and the Art Institute of Chicago she has worked commercially for many years. In addition to her interior and architectural work, Barbara has taught at, been published by, exhibited at, and been awarded by some of the nation's most prestigious museums, galleries, magazines, and institutes. Her work is represented in permanent collections including the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Stanford University Art Museum, the Sheldon Museum of Art and the Chrysler Museum, to name a few. Barbara's photography is also represented in numerous private collections across the country.

Barbara’s work has been published in Architecture, Interior Design, Metropolis, Architectural Digest, Chicago Magazine, Domus, Michigan Avenue, Architectural Record, Bark, Esquire, Interiors, and The New York Times. Additionally, she has been a Lecturer in the Dept. of Fine Arts at Loyola University and an adjunct professor at both Harrington College of Design, Columbia College and College of DuPage. She both consults with and mentors creatives. 

Her imagery has been included in many photography, interior, and architecture anthologies. She is the author and/or photographer of three books, Within the Fairy Castle, Greyhounds, and Small Dog Big Dog.  

Her newest publication, 820 Ebony/Jet: Visions of the Johnson Publishing Company, an American Icon, will be released by MW Editions in September 2026. Barbara is currently seeking exhibition opportunities, acquisitions, sponsorships, and grant support to help bring 820 Ebony/Jet to museums, universities, libraries, and audiences throughout the country.

To support the ongoing public life of the project, Barbara has partnered with Snapshot Nation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which serves as the project's fiscal sponsor. Contributions made through Snapshot Nation are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law and help expand exhibitions, educational programming, and other outreach efforts that preserve and share the extraordinary legacy of the Johnson Publishing Company

In Barbara’s spare time she is passionately committed to working to educate the public as to the marvels of living with the retired racing greyhound and actively involved with their adoption and placement as President of Greyhounds Only, an IL 501(c)(3).

To view more of Barbara’s photography, please visit karant.com and barbarakarant.com. She always welcomes inquiries and creative collaborations.