Hubbell, Charles

Charles H. Hubbell (1899-1971) was born in Lakewood, Ohio, where he attended Lakewood High School. His interest in aviation began at an early age. As a youth, he was an avid model airplane builder, and once attempted to build a full-size aircraft. During World War I, he enlisted in the United States Navy and was stationed in Buffalo, New York, as a draftsman, where he assisted in the design of naval aircraft. After the war, He entered the Cleveland School of Art where he graduated in 1922. He went on to become a commercial artist working on advertising for companies such as Woodroot Hair Tonic, Lucky Tiger, and Campbell Soups. In 1927, Hubbell received his private pilot's license by exchanging aviation art with flight instructors for flying lessons.

His reputation as an aviation artist grew in the Cleveland area. Eventually, his work was seen by Fred Witt, who, at the time, was the director of public relations for Thompson Products. Witt was so impressed with Hubbell's work that he showed it to the president of Thompson Products, Fredrick C. Crawford, who was equally impressed. Thompson Products then commissioned Hubbell to paint the winning aircraft of each year's Thompson Trophy Race. By 1936 Thompson Products had accumulated eight of Hubbell's paintings. Fred Witt had the idea to promote Thomson Products with a calendar featuring the aviation art of Charles Hubbell, and in 1937 the first Thompson Products calendar featuring the work of Charles Hubbell was produced. It was so popular that it was reissued the next year, with the addition of the 1937 Thompson Trophy winner. By 1941, Hubbell was painting twelve new works a year for the calendar. By 1950, Charles Hubbell and the Thompson Products calendar had become famous in aviation circles. Both aviation manufacturers and the branches of the military services invited Hubbell to view the operations of their aircraft in person, with the hope of one of their aircraft appearing in a future calendar. In 1949, the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) invited Hubbell on an around-the-world tour. The result was the 1951 calendar featuring the aircraft and operations of MATS. Hubbell continued to paint for the Thompson Products calendar until 1969. During this time, he was also a consultant to the Thompson Auto-Album and Aviation Museum, and later the Crawford Auto-Aviation Collection of the Western Reserve Historical Society. Hubbell's art has been displayed in corporate boardrooms, world capitals, and in President Harry S. Truman's Oval Office. In all, Hubbell produced paintings for thirty-two Thompson Products calendars. The technical accuracy, as well as his ability to capture the romance of flying in his artwork, made Charles H. Hubbell a legend in aviation art.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Charles Hubbell

From the guide to the Charles H. Hubbell Photographs, 1900-1970, (Western Reserve Historical Society)