| H. Charles McBarron, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Hugh Charles McBarron, Jr. |
| Born | 1902 Chicago, Illinois |
| Died | 1992 (aged 89) |
| Nationality | American |
| Field | Illustrator |
| Training | Chicago Art Institute |
| Works | Illustrated books: Military Uniforms in America; Soldiers of the American Revolution: A Sketchbook, and many others |
| Patrons | Founding member, Company of Military Historians |
| Influenced | Martin Handford |
Hugh Charles McBarron, Jr. (1902–1992), an American artist, is considered by many to be the "Dean of American Military Historians and Military Illustrators."
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McBarron was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he lived all his life. He was born and raised in a family home on the Near North Side of Chicago that had been rebuilt by his maternal grandfather after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
He began formal art training at age seven in classes at the Art Institute of Chicago. Upon graduation from Waller High School (now known as Lincoln Park High School), Chicago, he made a sudden decision to forego admission to Northwestern University's Medill School to pursue comprehensive study at the Art Institute of Chicago. His favored artists and illustrators included Van Dyck, Winslow Homer, Howard Pyle, NC Wyeth, JC Leyendecker, Maxfield Parrish and John Singer Sargent.
While informally researching military uniforms and weapons, McBarron realized that many illustrations of military scenes were inaccurate. He became committed to knowledgeable portrayal of detail and historical accuracy. An example is his mature 1975 work Soldiers of the American Revolution: A Sketchbook.
To support his studies, McBarron compiled an extensive personal library and collection of arms, armour, uniforms, artifacts, and research resources and archives. He drew on these and public sources for reference when creating his more than 60-year body of work. McBarron created all his illustrations from his studio in Chicago. Throughout his entire career, he maintained professional studios in Downtown Chicago, as well his home-based studio.
McBarron often drafted and completed his work in non-stop fashion. He embraced and used to his advantage then-contemporary mediums such as Black-and-White photos, Polaroid photos, and Kodak 16-mm movies. His use of photography and other such resources helped him produce illustrations and artworks that had accurate details.
To go along with his reading and research, McBarron visited and studied many of the major battlefields and historic sights located in the original 13 colonies, the Western Reserve, and Canada.
He was known for his ability to comprehend and explain complexities of clothing and uniform construction. McBarron would recreate uniform patterns which he would use to sew replicas to serve as historically accurate models for his work. While attending a luncheon with a fellow historian who was writing about a particular uniform, McBarron quickly sketched out its pattern on a cocktail napkin. The fellow historian picked up McBarron's impromptu sketch, and later included its reproduction within an authoritative work on military dress.
McBarron often served as an expert consultant to the US Department of the United States Army Center of Military History, the Smithsonian Institution, various military museums, and individual branches of the US Armed Forces. He also consulted with Encyclopædia Britannica and World Book Encyclopedia. McBarron served as a mentor, resource, and guide to many devotees, illustrators, and historians.
While known for his military illustrations, throughout his career he also created illustrations for fashion, advertising and mail order catalogues. McBarron produced such popular-culture icons as Captain Midnight, the Jolly Green Giant and Buster Brown. He portrayed himself as a subject within his works, and can be found in virtually all his military depictions. Where's Waldo? illustrator Martin Handford, in a Time Magazine article, cited McBarron as his primary influence.
McBarron married Mary Cecilia Pugh. Together they had a son, H. Charles McBarron III, and a daughter, Mary Meredith McBarron Wagner.
After his death, McBarron was interred next to his wife at Calvary Cemetery, Evanston, Illinois.
Among H. Charles McBarron's noted series of artworks on American Military subjects are:
