From dashing spy to Vogue illustrator: The double life of Mr. Stonehouse

Photos: brian stonehouse illustration
Tinker, tailor, artist, spy – Brian Stonehouse in his military uniform (left), and in disguise as Michel Chapuis, a French art student, in occupied France in 1942 (right). He survived German concentration camps to become a leading fashion illustrator after the War.
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Photos: brian stonehouse illustration
Tinker, tailor, artist, spy – Stonehouse was a spy during the Second World War, and in 1952 became the first new illustrator taken on by Vogue since 1939.
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Photos: brian stonehouse illustration
Tinker, tailor, artist, spy – His extraordinary visual memory made him both a good spy and a good artist.
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Tinker, tailor, artist, spy – Before the War he had ambitions to become an artist, but when hostilities broke out this was put on hold.
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Tinker, tailor, artist, spy – He joined the Army and was recognized by his commanding officer as having potential as a spy, perhaps due to his artistic eye and outsider personality.
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Tinker, tailor, artist, spy – He was selected for the secretive Special Operations Executive and trained as a radio operator. He was given the obvious cover: an art student.
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