In his teens, he worked as an usher at Warner Theater in West Chester, where he met his wife, Caroline Hannum Rubincam.
[3] After a short illness, Rubincam died at a veterans administration hospital in Elsmere, Delaware, on June 24, 1978, at the age of 57.
"[5] Like Andrew Wyeth, Rubincam painted and sketched ordinary objects—barns, bridges, bureaus, chairs, stairs, and windows—using sharp lines and contrasts and blending genres such as still lifes with local landscapes and historical scenes.
[6] In 1996, the Brandywine Museum of Art hosted an exhibition called "Barclay Rubincam Close Up" featuring twenty of Rubincam's works, including Tomatoes on Windowsill (1952), a still life (of tomatoes on a windowsill) set at the historic Birmingham Friends Meetinghouse.
[4][7] From November 1998 through April 1999, the Chester County History Center hosted the largest exhibition of his works, featuring more than sixty of his paintings, including still lifes, portraits, landscapes, and historical scenes, especially depictions of American Revolutionary War soldiers.
[10][11] Memorial Day (1951; oil on gesso panel), a simple still life featuring a rocking chair on a porch, has been held by the Brandywine Museum of Art since 2008.
[6] Rubincam painted the Marlborough Meeting House and gave the picture to his friend Charles Barnard, a Quaker minister.