KIMON NICOLAIDES was born in Washington, D.C., in 1891. His first contact with art was a subconscious familiarity with the oriental objects imported by his father.He decided early that he wished to paint, but he had to run away from home to study art because his parents were unsympathetic to the idea. He supported himself in New York by whatever came to hand - framing pictures, writing for a newspaper, even acting the part of an art student as a movie extra. His father was finaIIy won over by his obvious seriousness and financed his instruction at the Art Students' League - under Bridgman, Miller, and Sloan. When the United States entered the first World War, NicoEai'des volunteered in the Camouflage Corps and served in France for over a year, receiving a citation, One of his assignments, involving the study of geographical contour maps, first opened up for him the conception of "contour" which constitutes Exercise One in this book.