Carl Franz Joseph Barnas (1879-1953) was a painter, etcher, and illustrator. Barnas was born in Germany and spent his student days in art school and travelling in Europe. He immigrated to Ecuador during the rise of Nazi power in the 1930s. He specialized in tropical landscapes and mountain valley scenes. In 1949, Barnas came to the United States, and eventually settled in Houston, Texas. He died in 1953.