Sheperd Paine was born in Berlin, Germany and raised in New England. After service as a sergeant in the US Army, he received a BA from the University of Chicago.

   For many years he has worked in the military history field as a free-lance artist, sculptor, and writer. His commissions include dioramas for private collections (notably those of Andrew Wyeth and Forbes Magazine), museum projects, and several large commemorative sculptures for the Franklin Mint. Special displays of his work have been seen at the Brandywine River Museum, the Campbell Museum, and the St. Louis Museum of Science and Natural History. He is the author of four books and has also been featured in articles in Sports Illustrated and Fortune.

   Shep has an unusually broad knowledge of military history (particularly uniforms and equipment) with special knowledge of the American Civil War, Napoleonic Wars, and the two World Wars. For thirty years he has been an active collector of military antiques, specializing in the Victorian and Napoleonic periods. He is a director of the Napoleonic Historical Society, and has been a member of the Company of Military Historians since 1972, being elected a fellow of that organization in 1980. He currently serves on the Company’s Board of Governors.