Anne Meredith Barry (nee Smyth) was born August 31, 1932, in Toronto, Ontario and passed away in Tors Cove Newfoundland in 2003. Her mother was a strong cultural influence in the family, ensuring that her children regularly attended the symphony, museums and art galleries as a part of their daily life. Anne's art education received an early start when a grade two teacher contacted her mother to voice concern over Anne's practice of drawing in the borders of her readers. Her mother responded by immediately enrolling her in Saturday morning art classes at the Art Gallery of Ontario. She continued to draw and paint throughout her school years, but it wasn't until she entered the Ontario College of Art in 1949, that she began to pursue her creative abilities seriously as a future profession.

While attending art college, she credits the influence artists Carl Schaefer and Eric Friefeld for motivating and encouraging her interest in drawing continuously, and for instilling in her, a love for constantly exploring new ways to work with traditional media. During these years, she also developed a passion for art history and made weekly pilgrimages to the Royal Ontario Museum. She was also strongly influenced by the work of Japanese printmakers Hiroshige and Hokusai and by the paintings and philosophies of Matisse. Upon graduation in 1954, she married John Barry and between the years of 1958 and 1967 devoted herself to her family, raising two sons while painting part time. Then, while living in Montreal, she obtained a studio and has worked as a full time artist ever since. Her first residency was at her son's school back in Toronto in 1970. In the summer of 1971, she accepted another residency, this time at Hibbs Cove in Newfoundland. This ignited her passion for both Newfoundland and for teaching in many Canadian institutions including the Emily Carr College of Art and Design, in Vancouver. While working with the college's outreach program in 1986, she piloted a three day enrichment immersion in painting for North Vancouver secondary students. That program formed the foundation for the many enrichment programs now offered by the "Artists for Kids" Trust.

Anne Meredith Barry is a prolific artist. Since 1971, she has annually exhibited drawings, paintings and prints in many solo and group exhibitions in both commercial galleries and public museums across Canada and in the United States. Her work can be also be found in numerous private and public collections in each country.