Francis Davis Millet Francis Davis Millet ( November 3 , 1848 – April 15 , 1912 ) was an American painter , sculptor , and writer who died in the sinking of the RMS " Titanic " on April 15 , 1912 . Early life . Francis Davis Millet was born in Mattapoisett , Massachusetts . Most sources state that his date of birth was November 3 , 1846 , but a diary which he kept during his military service stated that November 3 , 1864 was his 16th birthday , thus indicating birth in 1848 . At age fifteen , Millet entered the Massachusetts regiment , first as a drummer boy and then a surgical assistant ( helping his father , a surgeon ) in the American Civil War . He repeatedly pointed to his experience working for his father as giving him an appreciation for the vivid blood red that he repeatedly used in his early paintings . He graduated from Harvard with a Master of Arts degree . He worked as a reporter and editor for the " Boston Courier " and then as a correspondent for the " Advertiser " at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition . Career . Millet had a studio in Rome in the early 1870s , and Venice in the mid - 1870s , where he lived with Charles Warren Stoddard , a well - known American travel journalist who , evidence indicates , had an active sexual interest in men . Historian Jonathan Ned Katz presents letters from Millet to Stoddard that suggest they had a romantic and intimate affair while living a bohemian life together . In 1876 , Millet returned to Boston to paint murals at Trinity Church in Boston with John LaFarge . He entered the Royal Academy of Fine Arts at Antwerp , Belgium , and won a silver medal in his first year ( never before done ) , followed by a gold medal in his second . In the Russo ‐ Turkish war of 1877 – 78 , he was engaged as a war correspondent by the New York " Herald " , the London " Daily News " , and the London " Graphic " . He was decorated by Russia and Romania due to his bravery under fire and services to the wounded . A well - regarded American Academic Classicist , Millet was close friends with Augustus Saint - Gaudens and Mark Twain , both of whom were present at his 1879 marriage to Elizabeth Merrill in Paris , France ; Twain was his best man . He was also well acquainted with the impressionist artist John Singer Sargent , who often used Millet ' s daughter Kate as a model , as well as the esteemed Huxley family . Millet became a member of the Society of American Artists in 1880 , and in 1885 was elected as a member of the National Academy of Design , New York and as Vice - Chairman of the Fine Arts Committee . He was made a trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art , and sat on the advisory committee of the National Gallery of Art . He was decorations director for the World ' s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 , where he is credited with having invented the first form of spray paint . His career included work with a number of worlds ' fairs , including Vienna , Chicago , Paris , and Tokyo , where he made contributions as a juror , administrator , mural painter / decorator , or adviser . Millet was among the founders of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts , Boston , and was influential in the early days of the American Federation of Arts . He was instrumental in obtaining the appointment of Emil Otto Grundmann , an old acquaintance from his Antwerp days , as first head of the School . Millet was involved with the American Academy in Rome from its inception and served as Secretary from 1904 – 11 . He was a founding member of the U . S . Commission of Fine Arts and served from 1910 until his death in 1912 . He died aboard the Titanic while traveling to New York City on Academy business . Millet was a writer and journalist as well as an artist . He translated Tolstoy and also wrote essays and short stories . Among his publications are " Capillary Crime and Other Stories " ( 1892 ) and " Expedition to the Philippines " ( 1899 ) . He was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and was also an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects . He was a founding member and vice chairman of the U . S . Commission of Fine Arts , from 1910 to 1912 . A noted sculptor and designer as well , Millet designed the 1907 Civil War Medal at the request of the U . S . Army and United States War Department . He also executed the ceiling of the Call Room of the US Custom House at Baltimore , Maryland . Death . On April 10 , 1912 , Millet boarded the RMS " Titanic " at Cherbourg , France , bound for New York City . He was last seen helping women and children into lifeboats . His body was recovered after the sinking by the cable boat " Mackay - Bennett " and returned to East Bridgewater , Massachusetts , where he was buried in Central Cemetery . In 1913 , the Butt - Millet Memorial Fountain was erected in Washington , D . C . , in memory of Millet and his long - time friend Archibald W . Butt , with whom he shared a home . A bronze bust in Harvard University ' s Widener Library also memorializes Millet .