Bone was born in Glasgow and studied at Glasgow School of Art. He settled in London in 1901. He was an official war artist in 1916-1918, and the official Admiralty artist in 1939-1946. As one of Britain’s leading draughtsmen, he was renowned for the almost photographic detail he achieved in his drawings. As well as recording the First World War on the Front, Bone spent time on the Clyde in Scotland, documenting shipbuilding. Bone was knighted in 1937.