McClelland Barclay (1891-1943) had a highly successful career in illustration until the ship he was on was sunk by the Japanese in the South Pacific during World War 2. Biographical information is here, and one of my previous references to him is here.

The theme of the present post originated in a fragment of an illustration for a Buick advertisement I noticed in a book. I don't know whether or not the image was cropped (I've failed to locate the original ad on the Internet), but what I have bears no signature.

The man and women pictured  in the car have gentle little smiles, an expression that strikes me as being surprisingly rare in advertising. So who painted that illustration? My guess is that it was Barclay. As evidence, I present below several known Barclay illustrations showing people with similar expressions. Furthermore, it is known that Barclay occasionally illustrated Buick advertisements. Let me know whether or not my guess is correct.

Gallery

[Image]Illustration for Buick advertisement - 1930
This is the unsigned (or cropped out) image and those gentle smiles.

[Image]College Humor cover - February 1926

[Image]Fond Departure - c.1922

[Image]Fisher Body advertisement - 1929

[Image]Fisher Body advertisement - 1928

[Image]Jantzen advertisement - 1926

[Image]Country Gentleman cover - February 1928

[Image]Country Gentlemen cover - April 1926