Barton, Ralph

Barton, Ralph

(1891–1931) illustrator, caricaturist; born in Kansas City, Mo. At the height of his career during the 1920s, when he was based in New York City but often traveled to Paris, his work was in demand by every magazine and book publisher and he came to epitomize the era he so cleverly caricatured. Often depressed, an insomniac, and a workaholic, he was constantly on the move, and married four times. He was a dandy who knew all the smart people, and could afford all the expensive toys, but ended up committing suicide.