Barbara Lynch Zinkel (1928–2017) was an American artist known for her limited-edition serigraph prints and hand-tufted, hand-carved wool rugs. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, she earned a BA in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. She began her art education in 1969 with color and interior design courses at Wayne State University in Detroit, later studying under Robert Kidd at the Robert Kidd Gallery in Birmingham, Michigan—a former fiber department head at Cranbrook Academy of Art.

Zinkel gained recognition for her dramatic use of color, with many works featuring up to 50 hues. Her artistic journey began in weaving and textile design before transitioning to serigraph printing. She published her first limited-edition serigraph in 1978 and distributed them nationally starting in 1979, creating over 40 editions. Her work was featured in prestigious show houses, galleries across the U.S., and media outlets such as Hour Detroit Magazine, The Detroit News, Better Homes and Garden’s Decorating Magazine, Fine Living Television’s “Mail Order Makeover,” and the set of NBC’s Law and Order.

She was deeply influenced by color theory, particularly the work of Josef Albers, and her geometric compositions often had a tactile, three-dimensional quality despite their flat graphic style. Her most notable works include Burgundy Blue, Rainbow I & II, Detroit Renaissance, and Wildwood. The record auction price for her work is $900, set in 2020 for a sculpted wool carpet.