Harold William McCauley was born July 11, 1913 in Chicago, Illinois. His mother died from complications after his birth, so he was raised by his father and maternal grandmother.
In 1927 he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago with J. Allen St. John, who inspired him with an interest in science fiction and fantasy art. He later studied at the American Academy of Art in Chicago.
From 1939 to 1942 he worked in Haddon Sundblom's busy art studio, where he happened to pose for Sundblom's original painting of the Quaker Oats man.
He served in the Army for the duration of WW2.
After the war he worked as a staff artist at the Chicago-based publishing house, Ziff-Davis, and painted covers for their pulp magazines Amazing, Fantastic Adventures, Imaginations, Imaginative Tales, Mammoth Detective, and Mammoth Western.
He married his model, Grace Lorraine Lindeman, and they raised one son and two daughters.
In the 1950s he created advertising art for Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Orange Kist, and Schlitz Beer. He also painted pin-ups and calendar art.
In 1958 he painted interior story illustrations of the men's magazine, Rogue.
In the 1960s he worked for an erotic paperback publisher, Nightstand Library, in Evanston, IL. One day the publishers were tipped off about a police raid, so they hurriedly burned dozens of McCauley's original paintings in the basement furnace.
In 1962 he moved to Melbourne, Florida, to work as a staff artist for a defense contractor in Palm Bay, The Harris Corporation. He also taught private art classes from his home studio on evenings and weekends.
Harold McCauley died from Pneumonia in a Miami Beach hospital at age 64 on December 16, 1977.
© David Saunders 2009 |
