Henri Farre was born in Foix, France in 1871. He is best known for his paintings of WWI aerial battles. Farre flew in the cockpits along with the pilots of the famed Lafayette Escadrille, sketching the air battles as they were taking place. After the battles, Farre created finished, larger oil paintings based on these dogfight sketches. He was given the title of "Observateur Bombardier au Groupe d'Escadreille de Bombardment" by the French government and received the Legion of Honor and the Croix de Guerre from France for his war efforts.

Farre wrote a book of his exploits called Sky Fighters of France in 1919. He exhibited at the Paris Salons and won a gold medal at the Salon des Artists Francais in 1934. In 1918, a large col...