Alter Ego #13, March 2002, published an early 1940s photograph of the Timely bullpen. The photograph was provided by artist Dave Gantz who was interviewed by Jim Amash. When Gantz identified the people for Amash, I suspect Fogel was misheard as Vogel. Here are my findings.
Barbara Clark was born on February 14, 1915, in Portland, Oregon, according to the Oregon birth certificate transcription at Ancestry.com. Her parents were William Dennison Clark and Mary Elisa Green who lived at 1069 Thurman Street in Portland.
The 1920 United States Census recorded Barbara as the youngest of three siblings who were Elizabeth and William. The family lived in Riverdale, Oregon.
According to the 1930 census, Barbara, her mother and brother were in the household of her mother’s sister, Dorothy Green. They resided at 417 Michigan Avenue, in Saginaw, Michigan.
Barbara attended Arthur Hill High School. Below are details of four group photographs from the 1931 Legende yearbook.
Barbara’s father passed away in May 30, 1932 in Salem, Oregon.
At some point before 1935 (based on the 1940 census), Barbara, her family and aunt moved to New York City where Barbara may have studied art. When and where she met artist and muralist Seymour Fogel is not known. On November 6, 1936, Barbara and Fogel obtained a Manhattan marriage license and married that day. Barbara’s sister, Elizabeth, was a witness. (Barbara’s aunt, Dorothy Green married Joseph Badger, who was in advertising, on December 24, 1936. Barbara’s mother was a witness.)
Barbara and Fogel signed petitions supporting New York City Communist Party candidates for the 1936 and 1939–1940 elections.
Barbara and Fogel have not yet been found in the 1940 census. Her mother lived alone in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her brother was a Bodie, California resident. Her sister has not been found. Her aunt was in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
Fogel signed his World War II draft card on October 16, 1940. The address was 70 East 12th Street in Manhattan. The address was updated twice, first at 159 West 23rd Street, and second at General Delivery in Safford, Arizona, where, under a WPA program, Fogel painted a mural at the post office.
Barbara found work at Timely Comics in the early 1940s but it’s not clear which comics she contributed to. She is not listed at Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999 and the Grand Comics Database. Mystic Comics #2, Fall 1944, published an Angel story, “Blueprint For Destruction”, with a villain named Fogel. Her comics career ended by 1946 when she moved to Austin, Texas. That same year, Fogel made his debut according to Art Digest, February 1, 1946.
In the 1950 census, Barbara, her husband, daughter “Gail” [Gayle], and son Jared, lived in Austin, Texas at 2410 Leon Street.
Barbara and Fogel’s house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. Here are excerpts from the application at the Texas Historical Commission.
... Fogel moved to Texas with his wife Barbara and baby daughter Gayle in 1946 to teach art at the University of Texas. In 1952, Fogel purchased the Hachenberg barn and set about turning it into his new home and studio with the help of his friend and local architect Harold E. (Bubi) Jessen and carpenter Joe (Austin Joe) Williams. Although Jessen drew up the blueprints of the house for city permits, Fogel designed the house and built it together with Williams (Laurel, 2002.) They completed the single story Usonian style house in 1953. At the time, the Fogel House was reportedly the only structure of its type in Austin.... Fogel sold the house and property to Mildred Ferguson in 1960. ... Fogel moved to Connecticut in 1960 and established a studio in Manhattan. ...
Barbara’s son, Jared, said the family moved in 1959 and “In the early 1960s, he [Fogel] rented a home in Weston, Connecticut, and maintained studios in New York City, first at East 17th Street and later a loft on Canal Street.” The 1972 Weston, Connecticut city directory listed the Fogels at 68 Georgetown Road.
Barbara passed away on October 17, 1980, in Norwalk, Connecticut, according to the Connecticut Death Index at Ancestry.com. Her last residence was in Weston. Her husband passed way on December 4, 1984.
Further Reading
Barbara was the source for an article about her grandfather, Charles H. Clark, published in Arizona Highways, September 1957. (Free download at the Arizona Memory Project.)
Vintage Texas Paintings, Seymour Fogel
Russell Tether Fine Arts Associates, “The American Scene and Public Art During the Great Depression”
The article has a quote by Barbara about Diego Rivera’s mural at Rockefeller Center.
Women in Comics Posts
Ruth Atkinson, Olive Bailey, Valerie Barclay, Vivian Berg, Helen Chu aka Duffy Mohler, Ellen Cole, Corinne Boyd Dillon, Anahid Dinkjian,
Barbara Clark Fogel, Evelyn Gaines aka Lynn Lovelace, Merna Gamble, Gerda Gattel, Selma Meyers Gleit, Jane Krom Grammer, Anita Greene,
Georgette Sauterel, Marie Severin, Marcia Snyder, Lora Sprang aka Pat Gordon, Serena Summerfield, Daisy Swayze, Terry Szenics, Claire Szep,
(Next post: Joe Giella’s World War II Draft Card)
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