Antique
1930s McClelland Barclay Leaf Dish. This beautiful piece measures
approximately 6” X 7” X 2.25" and is signed on the bottom. The bronze finish has
wear commensurate with its age.
The Artist, McClelland Barclay (1891 – 1943) was primarily known for his
Illustration work. By the age of 21, Barclay's work had been published in The Saturday Evening Post, Ladies' Home Journal, and Cosmopolitan. Born in St. Louis in 1891, He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, and later at the Art Students League in New York City. Barclay did not
limit himself to painting. In the late 1930s, he set up a small company to
reproduce jewelry and fabricate utilitarian figures for ashtrays, bookends,
desk sets, lamps, and other articles for home and office use. These products
were fabricated out of cast grey metal with a thick bronze plate finish.
He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Naval Reserve in 1938 and following the Japanese attack
on Pearl Harbor he went on active duty. At the time of his death, in 1943, he
was a Lt. Commander. The
USS LST 342 he was aboard was torpedoed in the Solomon Islands. On
board, sketching and taking photographs at the time, Barclay's body was not
recovered.