The following biography was prepared by the James A. Michener Art, Doylestown, PA and is presented by Rago Auctions, Inc.

Raymond Barger was a sculptor working in metal, plastelina, and bronze among other materials. His sculptures are large, monumental pieces placed outdoors as part of the landscape. Barger believed that artists and sculptors must work with architects and industrial leaders . The sculpture Transition was designed to complement the J.C. Penny Building in New York. The sculpture was at this location for 23 years, before it was moved to the James A. Michener Art Museum. The 25 foot abstract bronze sculpture is made of 6,000 feet of welded bronze strips.


Barger was a poet as well. He wrote the poem Transition for the dedication of the sculpture at the James A. Michener Art Center in 1989. Barger was educated at Carnegie Institute of Technology and Yale University School of Fine Art. He received a Winchester Fellowship from Yale, and a special fellowship from the American Academy in Rome. His piece, Seated Lady, was awarded the Central Bucks Chamber of Commerce Bucks County Arts Award in 1977. Barger moved to California, where he died in 2001.

Born in Brunswick, MD on May 27, 1906. Barger studied at Carnegie Institute and Yale School of Fine Arts. Most of his career was spent in New York City. By the 1950s he had moved to California and settled in San Rafael. He died in Costa Mesa, CA on Feb. 16, 2001. Exh: New York World's Fair, 1939. In: U.S. Post Office (Providence, RI).