[4] Interrupted by World War I, Conrow left his studies to serve the U.S. camouflage department in Europe, designing concealment for men and machinery.
[2] While serving in Paris, he met Lyra Millette, an American Red Cross director, and his future wife.
[4] After the war, Conrow returned to New York City, where he lived with his wife above Carnegie Hall and operated a successful portrait studio.
Over the years, he would provide the museum with his knowledge of American art, New York connections, paintings from his private collection, and a large number of his own works.
Beyond physical appearance, he strove to portray character, and becoming acquainted with the subject was consistently part of Conrow's painting process.