Joseph Frey 1892-1977 Barn In A Landscape Oil on burlap Signed lower left: Joseph Frey; signed again and dated "1939," verso. I’ve noticed this very barn painted by so many California artist and though why? Whose barn is it and where is it? Well the search goes on and it’s not been easy as this style barn was extremely popular in California. JOSEPH P. FREY (1892-1977) was born in Walla Walla, Washington on October 17, 1892. At age sixteen Frey began his art studies at the Art Institute of Chicago. He opened his first studio in 1915 in San Francisco during the furor of the Panama Pacific International Exposition and painted many harbor scenes in and around the bay.. By 1928 he had settled in southern California where he lived in Los Angeles, Palm Springs, and Santa Barbara. Member: Painters & Sculptors of Los Angeles.