Barraud was born at La Chaux-de-Fonds,[1] eldest of several brothers,[2] the sons of an engraver of watch plates, at least four of whom became artists.
Between 1910 and 1914 Charles followed an apprenticeship as an engraver while attending the art school of La Chaux-de-Fonds in the evenings, as did his brothers.
When his father became ill in 1918 he worked with his brothers in the local workshops, then spent some time in Geneva with Albert Locca.
In the same year he took part in a joint exhibition of works by the four Barraud brothers in Paris (repeated in 1961 at La Chaux-de-Fonds) and bought a house in Blauzac.
After several exhibitions, including a retrospective at the Musée des beaux-arts of La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1958, he made another visit to Algeria in 1973 and to Tunisia in 1989.