Order  Index/Search  Home  About Us  Whats New

Art and Camouflage: An Annotated Bibliography

The wartime use of camouflage is by no means a modern invention; it is as old as human history. But its importance increased during World War I as a result of the use of the airplane and photography for aerial observation. The first section de camouflage in military history was established in 1915 by the French, under the command of an artist, and thereafter comparable units were used by the British and Americans, and, to lesser extent, by the Germans, Italians, and Russians. These units were largely made up of camoufleurs who in civilian life had been artists of one kind or another, including fine artists, designers, and architects. As a result, literally hundreds of artists served during both World Wars, by participants on all sides of the conflicts, as military or civil defense camouflage experts, including such familiar names as Abbott H. Thayer, Jean-Louis Forain, Jacques Villon, Andre Dunoyer de Segonzac, Franz Marc, Oskar Schlemmer, Edward Wadsworth, William Stanley Hayter, Arshile Gorky, Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, and Ellsworth Kelly. This following bibliography is an incomplete list of books, exhibition catalogs and articles that contain information on the contributions of artists to modern studies of camouflage, both biological and military. A far more extensive bibliography, without annotations, can be found in R.R. Behrens, False Colors: Art, Design and Modern Camouflage (Dysart, Iowa: Bobolink Books, 2002), pp. 213-223.---RB

Atterbury, P. "Dazzle Painting in the First World War," in Antique Collector 46, pp. 25-29 (1975). An account of artists' contributions to disruptive ship camouflage (or "dazzle painting") during World War I, illustrated by historic photographs.

Barkas, G. The Camouflage Story (London: Cassell and Company, 1952). A first-hand account of World War II British field camouflage, as recalled by a prominent camouflage officer.

Behrens, R.R. Art and Camouflage: Concealment and Deception in Nature, Art and War (Cedar Falls, IA: North American Review / University of Northern Iowa, 1981). A pioneering, if wildly inaccurate, book about the inherent link between art and camouflage, and the role of modern artists in military camouflage in World Wars I and II.

Behrens, R.R. "The Art of Dazzle Painting," in Defence Analysis 3, No. 3, pp. 233-243 (1987). Disruptive camouflage during World Wars I and II considered in relation to gestalt theory, and developments in modern art, particularly cubism.

Behrens, R.R. "The Theories of Abbott H. Thayer: Father of Camouflage," in Leonardo 21, No. 3, pp. 291-296 (1988). An account of the contributions of an important American painter to biological and military camouflage.

Behrens, R.R. "Blend and Dazzle: The Art of Camouflage," in Print 45, No. 1, pp. 92-98ff (January/February 1991). A review of the involvement of artists and designers in the development of modern military camouflage, with numerous full-color illustrations.

Behrens, R.R. "Among the Dazzle Painters: Sherry Fry and the Invention of American Camouflage," in Tractor: Iowa Arts and Culture 4, No. 4, pp. 26-28 (Fall 1996). The story of the life and work of Sherry Fry, an Iowa-born sculptor who co-founded the American Camouflage Corps during World War I.

Behrens, R.R. "Camouflage," in Jane Turner, ed., The Dictionary of Art (London and New York: Grove Dictionaries, 1996). An encyclopedia article on the historic link between art and camouflage.

Behrens, R.R. "On Max Wertheimer and Pablo Picasso: Gestalt Theory, Cubism and Camouflage" in Gestalt Theory 20, No. 2, pp. 111-118 (June1998). The coincidental developments of gestalt theory (founded byWertheimer) and cubism (co-founded by Picasso) considered in relation to World War I camouflage.

Behrens, R.R. "The Role of Artists in Ship Camouflage During World War I" in Leonardo 32, No. 1, pp. 53-59 (1999). A detailed report on the role of British and American artists in the design of military and merchant ship camouflage, especially "dazzle painting," during World Wars I and II.

Behrens, R.R. "Revisiting Gottschaldt: Embedded Figures in Art, Architecture and Design" in Gestalt Theory 22, No. 2, pp. 97-106 (June 2000). A discussion of experiments with embedded figures (sometimes called "camouflaged figures") in psychology, as compared to the use of similar forms in art, architecture, and design.

Behrens, R.R. False Colors: Art, Design and Modern Camouflage (Dysart, Iowa: Bobolink Books, 2002). An account of how the strategies used to conceal animals in nature, and military equipment and personnel in wartime depend on the same, unit forming factors‰ that artists, architects, and designers use everyday in the design of typefaces, publications, buildings, furniture, and so on.

Berry, H. Make the Kaiser Dance (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1978). The autobiography of an American artist, who served as an army camoufleur during World War I.

Bowditch, N.D. George de Forest Brush (Peterborough, NH: William L. Bauhan, 1970). A biography, written by his daughter, of a prominent 19th-century American painter who collaborated with Abbott H. Thayer on early camouflage experiments.

Cordier, M. "Louis Guingot (1864-1948)," in Le Pays Lorrain 61, No. 3 (1980), pp. 173-174. A brief biography of a French painter who contributed to World War I camouflage.

Cork, R. A Bitter Truth: Avant-Garde Art and the Great War. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press (1994). References to World War I camouflage abound in this ambitious study of the portrayal of trench warfare by soldiers who tend to be thought of today as avant-garde artists.

Cornebise, A.E. Art From the Trenches: America&Mac226;s Uniformed Artists in World War I. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University (1991). An account of the designation by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of eight men as official war artists during World War I, some of whom were camoufleurs.

Cornebise, A.E., ed. War Diary of a Combat Artist [Harry E. Townsend]. Niwat, Colorado: University Press of Colorado (1991). There are numerous eyewitness observations of World War I camouflage in this fascinating wartime journal of an official American war artist, illustrated throughout by his on-site battlefield drawings.

Cott, H.B. "Camouflage in Nature and War," in Royal Engineers Journal, pp. 501-517 (December 1938). A comparison of biological and military camouflage by a knighted British zoologist who also was a camoufleur during both World Wars.

Cott, H.B. Adaptive Coloration in Nature (London: Methuen, 1940). A classic, detailed overview of biological camouflage, illustrated with exquisite pen-and-ink drawings by the author, a zoologist and camoufleur.

Cruickshank, C. Deception in World War II. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press (1979). A review of various types of military deception, concealment, and misinformation employed during World War II, including camouflage.

Delouche, D. "Cubisme et Camouflage," in Guerres Mondiales et Conflits Contemporains 43, No. 171 (1993), pp. 123-137. An account of the theory and history of the connection between cubism and camouflage.

Faulkner, B. Sketches From An Artist's Life (Dublin, NH: William L. Bauhan, 1973). The engaging autobiography of American painter Barry Faulkner, a cousin of Abbott H. Thayer, and co-founder, with Sherry Fry, of the American Camouflage Corps.

Fogden, M. and P. Animals and Their Colors (New York: Crown Publishers, 1974). An introduction to biological camouflage, illustrated with full-color photographs.

Gregory, R.L. and E.H. Gombrich, eds. Illusion in Nature and Art (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973). An anthology of illustrated articles on art, perception, and biological form, including a memorable article on "Natural Deception" by H.E. Hinton.

Hartcup, G. Camouflage: A History of Concealment and Deception in War (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1980). A thorough, well-written overview of the development of modern military camouflage, including the contributions of artists. Illustrated with historic photographs.

Hreachmack, P. The Painter's Guide to World War Two Naval Camouflage. (Phoenixville, Pennsylvania: Clash of Arms, 1999). This is a camouflage manual for painters of minature ship models. It includes schematic diagrams of World War II naval camouflage for American, British, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and other ships.

Hurst, H. "Dazzle Painting in War-Time," in International Studio, pp. 93-97 (September 1919). A vivid, eye-witness report on the bizarre experience of seeing a harbor of dazzle-painted ships during World War I. Illustrated by artists' renderings of the same experience.

Kahn, E.L. The Neglected Majority: "Les Camoufleurs," Art History, and World War I (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1984). An account of the involvement of French artists, including some cubists, in the development of World War I camouflage, based on government documents.

Keen, A.M. "Protective Coloration in the Light of Gestalt Theory," in Journal of General Psychology 6, pp. 200-203 (1932). An early speculation on the similarities among art, gestalt theory, and biological camouflage.

Lehndorff, V and H. Trulzsch Veruschka: Trans-figurations (Boston: Little Brown, 1986). Superb photographs of attempts to disrupt and conceal the human body in various surroundings, using intricate body painting.

Luckiesh, M. Visual Illusions: Their Causes, Characteristics and Applications (New York: Dover Publications, 1965). Essays on perception and optics by a World War I-era science writer, including a classic chapter on camouflage.

Maskelyne, J. Magic--Top Secret (London: Stanley Paul, c1948). An amusing report on a prominent magician's contributions to British field camouflage during World War II.

Meryman, R. "A Painter of Angels Became the Father of Camouflage" in Smithsonian Magazine, pp. 116-128, April 1999. The author of this delightful and informative article on Abbott H. Thayer&Mac226;s contribution to camouflage is the son of Richard Meryman, who was Thayer&Mac226;s student and himself a World War I camoufleur.

Metzger, W. Gesetze des Sehens (Frankfort am Main: Waldemar Kramer, 1975). A lengthy and profusely illustrated guide to form perception, including camouflage, from the point of view of a gestalt psychologist. Even though it has never been translated into English, one can still learn quite a lot by studying the illustrations.

Naverson, R. "The Scenographer as Camoufleur," Ph.D. dissertation (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University, 1989). An ambitious, wide-ranging account of the contribution of theatrical set designers to military camouflage.

Nemerov, A. "Vanishing Americans: Abbott Thayer, Theodore Roosevelt, and the Attraction of Camouflage" in American Art, pp. 51-81 (Summer 1997). Thought-provoking essay on the contrasting attitudes toward natural camouflage of Thayer and Roosevelt, considered as extensions of their attitudes about manhood.

Newark, T., et al. Brassey's Book of Camouflage (Herndon VA: Brassey's, 1996). The history of camouflage in military uniforms in this century, illustrated by scores of full-color photographs.

Penrose, R. Home Guard Manual of Camouflage (London: G. Routledge, 1941). A handbook, written by an artist and early biographer of Picasso, who taught camouflage during World War II.

Portmann, A. Animal Camouflage (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1959). An illustrated introduction to biological camouflage.

Portmann, A. Animal Forms and Patterns (New York: Schocken, 1967). A classic, beautifully illustrated study of the appearance of animals.

Reit, S. Masquerade: The Amazing Camouflage Deceptions of World War II (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1978). A popularized history of military camouflage during World War II, including some contributions by artists, with particular emphasis on mimicry and decoys.

Roskam, A. Dazzle Painting: Kunst Als Camouflage: Camouflage Als Kunst, exhibition catalog (Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Stichting Kunstprojecten en Uitgevergij Van Spijk, 1987). An account of the involvement of artists in the development of disruptive ship camouflage during World War I, illustrated with historic photographs.

Roussanne, F. "Chronique de l'Institut d'Histoire des Conflits Contemporains," in Guerres Mondiales et Conflits Contemporains 44, No 175 (1994), pp. 147-150. A brief discussion of the history of French camouflage during World War I.

Schwartz, H. The Culture of the Copy (New York: Zone Books, 1996). A meandering, speculative essay about replicas, duplicates, and twins, including a chapter on camouflage.

Scott, P. The Eye of the Wind (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1961). The autobiography of a World War II ship camoufleur.

Shapiro, T. Painters and Politics (New York: Elsevier, 1976). A discussion of art in relation to politics, including the involvement of French artists in World War I camouflage.

Sloane, E. Camouflage Simplified (New York: Devin-Adair, 1942). A succinct, insightful overview of military camouflage, written and illustrated by a popular American artist.

Solomon, S.J. Strategic Camouflage (London: J. Murray, 1920). A critique of Allied and German camouflage during World War I by Solomon J. Solomon, a prominent British painter and camoufleur.

Staerck, C., ed. Allied Photo Reconnaissance of World War II. (San Diego, California: Thunder Bay Press 1998). An illustrated history of aerial reconnaissance photography, with primary emphasis on its extensive and important use during World War II.

Stanley II, R.M. To Fool a Glass Eye: Camouflage Versus Photoreconnaissance in World War II. (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Press 1998). Richly illustrated account of the efforts of photo interpreters during World War II to decipher enemy camouflage and decoys in aerial photographs.

Sumrall, R.G. "Ship Camouflage (WWI): Deceptive Art," in United States Naval Institute Proceedings 97, No 7, pp. 57-77 (July 1971). A brief summary of World War I American ship camouflage, illustrated by diagrams and historic photographs.

Sumrall, R.G. "Ship Camouflage (WWII): Deceptive Art," in United State Naval Institute Proceedings 99, No. 2, pp. 67-81 and 89-92 (February 1973). A brief summary of World War II ship camouflage (a sequel to the previous entry), illustrated by diagrams and historic photographs.

Sykes, S. Deceivers Ever: Memoirs of a Camouflage Officer 1939-1945. (Kent, England: Spellmount, 1990). Detailed first-hand report of the author&Mac226;s service as a British camoufleur in North Africa during World War II.

Thayer, G.H. Concealing Coloration in the Animal Kingdom (New York: Macmillan, 1909; 2nd ed., 1918). A provocative, richly illustrated discussion of the theories of Abbott H. Thayer, a prominent 19th-century American painter and the "father of camouflage." While some of its findings are controversial, it remains one of the most important books on the subject.

Toch, M. "Adventures in Camouflage," in The Military Engineer 23, pp. 307-309 (July-August 1931). An autobiographical account of World War I American ship camouflage.

Toliver, O.S. An Artist at War: The Journal of John Gaitha Browning (Denton, TX: University of North Texas Press, 1994). Excerpts from the diary of a World War II American Army camoufleur.

Trevelyan, J. Indigo Days (London: MacGibbon & Kee, 1957). The autobiography of a prominent British artist and World War II camoufleur

Wadsworth, B. Edward Wadsworth: A Painter's Life (UK: Michael Russell, 1989). The biography, written by his daughter, of an important British painter who oversaw the painting of camouflaged ships during World War I.

Warner, E.L. "The Science of Marine Camouflage Design," in Transactions of the Illuminating Engineering Society 14, No 5, pp. 215-219 (July 21, 1919). A first person narrative of World War I American ship camouflage (nicknamed "jazz painting"), by the artist in charge of the camouflage team.

Warner, E.L. "Fooling the Iron Fish: The Inside Story of Marine Camouflage," in Everybody's Magazine, pp. 102-109 (November 1919). A popularized version, more or less, of the previous entry.

White, N. Abbott H. Thayer: Painter and Naturalist (Hartford, CT: Connecticut Printers, 1951). A detailed, fascinating account of the life and ideas of an American painter who was also a major contributor to biological and military camouflage.

Whyte, L.L., ed. Aspects of Form (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1951). A classic collection of essays about perception and appearance in art and science, including contributions by Rudolf Arnheim, E.H. Gombrich, C.H. Waddington, and Konrad Lorenz. See especially "Animal Form in Relation to Appearance" by Hugh B. Cott, a British zoologist and military camoufleur; and Lancelot Law Whyte's astonishing "Chronological Survey on Form."

Wickler, W. Mimicry in Plants and Animals (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1968). A richly illustrated overview of deceptive resemblance in plants and animals.

Wilkinson, N. "Naval Camouflage," in Encyclopedia Britannica, 12th Ed., Vol. 1, pp. 546-547 (1922). An illustrated report on ship camouflage during World War I by the inventor of dazzle painting.

Wilkinson, N. A Brush With Life (London: Seeley Service and Company, 1969). The autobiography of a British watercolor painter who was also a major contributor to World War I ship camouflage.

Williams, D. Liners in Battledress: Wartime Camouflage and Color Schemes for Passenger Ships (St Catharines, ON: Vanwell Publishing, 1989). An overview of the camouflage of passenger ships, illustrated with historic photographs.

31 January 2002.