Born in 1931 in Lucea, Barrington Watson made his original mark in Jamaica as a football player for Kingston College. However, he ultimately followed his artistic yearnings by enrolling at the Royal College of Art in London. He travelled widely and then returned to Jamaica in the early 1960s. He became the first Director of Studies at the Jamaica School of Art and co-founded the Contemporary Jamaican Artists' Association (1964-74). He later served as visiting professor at Spelman College, Atlanta. In 1967 he won a prize at the first Spanish Biennale at Barcelona. In 2000 he was awarded a Gold Musgrave Medal by the Institute of Jamaica.

 

Watson has exhibited throughout Jamaica and internationally. He is the father of sculptors Basil Watson and Raymond Watson. Watson is the subject of Lennie Little-White's 2015 documentary film They Call Me Barrington. He died on 26 January 2016 at the age of 85.