Harper Goff

Harper Goff (March 16, 1911 – March 3, 1993), born Ralph Harper Goff, was an American artist, musician, and actor. For many years, he was associated with The Walt Disney Company, in the process of which he contributed to various major films, as well as to the planning of the Disney theme parks. During World War II, he was also an advisor to the U.S. Army on camouflage (Blechman 2004; Behrens 2009).

Goff was born in Fort Collins, Colorado. He studied art at Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, then moved to New York City, where he worked as a magazine illustrator, producing artwork for Collier's, Esquire and National Geographic. As a designer, he sometimes produced advertising for the U.S. Army.

During World War II, by his own account, Goff was approached for advice about camouflage paint by the U.S. Army, because he had been "making paint and working on a do-it-yourself painter's kit" (Naversen 1989, p. 150). Assigned to a camouflage research facility at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, he developed a set of paint colors (which he compared to paint-by-number kits) that were used as "standard issue" hues for camouflage, as well as a camouflage pigment that was chemically impermanent, enabling its removal when it was no longer needed. Later in the war, he transferred to the U.S. Navy where (in his words) "I was working on confusing the silhouettes of ships" [not unlike dazzle camouflage] (Naversen 1989, p. 151).

Returning to the U.S., Goff moved back to California and worked as a set designer for Warner Bros., producing the sets for such memorable films as Sergeant York, Charge of the Light Brigade, and Captain Blood. Goff was a lifelong model train enthusiast. In 1951, while in a London model-making shop, he met Walt Disney when they both wanted to buy the same model train.

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