McBarron was born in
Chicago, where he lived all his life. He was born and raised in a family home on
Chicago's Near North Side, which was rebuilt by his maternal grandfather after the
Great Chicago Fire of 1871. McBarron 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, 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, exemplified by his 1975 work
Soldiers of the American Revolution: A Sketchbook depicting the
Continental Army, led by General
George Washington, during the
American Revolutionary War. 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, and a home-based studio in Chicago. 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
Thirteen 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 sketched out its pattern on a
cocktail napkin. The fellow historian surreptitiously pocketed 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
United States Marine Corps History Division,
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. McBarron made uniform illustrations for the Military Collector & Historian, journal of the Company of Military Historians, from the work of Lieutenant Colonel Edwin North McClellan, USMC (
Uniforms of the American Marines 1775 to 1829 1932, reprinted 1974, 1982): :"
Captain Robert Mullan's Company of
Continental Marines, 1779" (MC&H, volume I, number 1, plate #2, pp 2-3) :"U.S. Marine Corps, Circa 1805-1818" (MC&H, volume II, number 2, plate #24, pp. 25-28) While known for his military illustrations, McBarron also created illustrations for
fashion,
advertising and
mail order catalogues. He 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. ==Marriage and family==