Born in 1875 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Irving Bacon received his early art training at the Art School of the Detroit Museum of Art. Much of his early work concentrated on illustrations and cartoons; often his work reflected an influence of travels in the American West. From 1894 to 1900, he worked as an illustrator at the Detroit Evening News and the Detroit Free Press. In 1902 he went to New York City to study at the Chase School of Art and to illustrate for Harper's Weekly and McClure's. From 1906 to 1910, he studied under Heinrich von Zuget at the Royal Academy in Munich. After returning to Detroit, he sold a painting to Henry Ford and received permission to utilize Ford's large estate for creating landscape paintings. In 1913 he became an employee of the Ford Motor Company, drawing cartoons for the Ford Times and illustrations for the Dearborn Independent. He painted scenes that were of interest to Henry Ford and portraits of Ford's family and friends including Noah Webster, Luther Burbank, Mark Twain, George Washington Carver, Stephen Foster, John Burroughs, and others. Bacon's interest in photography and motion pictures led him to become the head of the Ford Motor Company's Photographic Department for a number of years. He was also responsible for creating paintings of Edison Institute (now The Henry Ford) artifacts, and he acted as stage designer for the museum's theater. He retired from the Edison Institute and Ford Motor Company in 1948 and died in Miami, Florida in 1962 at the age of 86.
From the description of Irving R. Bacon papers, ca. 1863-1957 (bulk 1929-1945) (The Henry Ford). WorldCat record id: 70134883
