Charles James McCall was born in Edinburgh, and despite first studying law, he took up art after winning a scholarship at the Edinburgh College of Art. There he studied under the artist S.J. Peploe. McCall was awarded further scholarships in Europe in the 1930s, including studies at the Académie Colarossi in Paris (1937). Returning to Edinburgh in 1938, he became a Fellow of the College of Art and began exhibiting at the Royal Academy, the New English Art Club and with the London Group. In the Second World War he served with the Royal Engineers. Afterwards, McCall exhibited in solo shows in Britain and the USA, Canada and Ireland. His work is included in the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow and the Edmonton Art Gallery, Canada.
