Francis McCarthy was born in Philadelphia in 1923, he lived and painted most of his life in Philadelphia although a great many of his pictures came from his world travels. He began art lessons at the unusually young age of 3 at the Friends Neighborhood Guild and his talent was constantly nurtured there and at home. In the 40's Albert Barnes met Francis at the Guild and understood his gifts. Barnes became his encouraging patron, then McCarthy studied at the Philadelphia College of Art, Barnes Foundation, Grand Chaumiere (Paris, France), and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. McCarthy was an instructor of adults and children at the Fleisher Art Memorial for fifty-one years from 1953 onward and continued to teach drawing and painting in Fleisher's evening program until his health began to fail just prior to the start of the Fall 2004 semester. His work is in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the National Gallery in Washington DC, the Barnes Foundation, and other museums and private collections in America and Europe. McCarthydied in 2005.