Historic Road Trip: Discover McClelland Barclay, Fisher Body Girl artist

Take a beautiful road trip with the biographer of the artist from the early automotive age

Hear the unusual detective story of how Patricia Gostick, a vintage jewellery dealer and collector, came to write the biography of artist McClelland Barclay (1891-1943). During this talk you will see a selection of Barclay’s automotive paintings from 1916 to the early 1940s for GM’s Fisher Bodies, Buick, Cadillac, Overland, including selected items from the Canadian Automotive Museum’s archives, along with some of his works for FWD Trucks, Hupmobile, Goodyear, National, Peerless, Pierce-Arrow, Saxon Six, Shell, Texaco, Atlantic Gasoline, U.S. Royal Cords, and more.

With fuel stops and detours along the way, speaker and author Patricia Gostick will share how her hunt for collectible vintage jewellery and decorative art led to her discovery of many automotive and other artworks by McClelland Barclay. Learn what drove her to assemble all the parts of the life of this once famous artist for Fisher Bodies and other early automotive-related brands in her book: McClelland Barclay: Painter of Beautiful Women and More.

• SPECIAL OFFER: For those registered to attend the talk, the author will provide a promo code to purchase her beautifully illustrated hardcover book at a special discounted price. Copies of her book will also be on display and available for purchase at the museum. More about the book.
  
  

This online talk will take place over Zoom and is part of the Canadian Automotive Museum's Third Thursday lecture series. These online talks are free and open to the public, but registration is required. The Canadian Automotive Museum is a registered Canadian charity and a suggested donation of $10 goes toward covering the cost of hosting these virtual events. Donors who make an annual contribution of over $25 will receive a charitable tax receipt.

About Our Speaker

Author Patricia Gostick’s expertise is vintage jewellery, not automobile history. Patricia’s years of collecting McClelland Barclay jewellery and decorative art led to her discovery of Barclay’s fame for his many automotive-related paintings during the fast-moving Jazz Age. From 1916 to the early 1940s, Patricia’s research revealed Barclay’s style of art helped fuel demand for cars, trucks, tires, gasoline – and most notably, his creation of the “Fisher Body Girl” he illustrated from 1923 - 1931 for the auto body maker of all General Motors car brands. But Barclay’s history and many other works for popular magazines, decorative art, plus his service and sacrifice in the U.S. Navy Reserve during WWII was being lost, compelling Patricia to write the book: McClelland Barclay: Painter of Beautiful Women and More. Patricia lives in Toronto with her husband, two daughters, and golden retriever.