 Surely, it was not an entire coincidence that the man who hired him for that position, Homer Saint-Gaudens (son of the celebrated sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens), had been the officer in charge of the American Army's Camouflage Corps during World War I. Nan Sheets was among the artists who studied with him.In early 1941, after viewing a newsreel showing what he considered amateurish dazzle camouflage on Royal Navy Ships, he wrote a letter to the US Navy offering his services.At the time, the Navy did not anticipate using disruptive camouflage schemes and declined his offer.