In addition to acting as Director of Decoration, Francis (Frank) D. Millet (1846-1912) also played an active role in various aspects of the Fair. He was on the Advisory Committee for the Department of Fine Arts, and was one of the jury members charged with selecting artists who would be included in the American Art exhibition in the Palace of Fine Arts—his paintings were also selected for the show. Additionally, he painted decorative murals for a number of buildings at the Fair, including the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building, the Fine Arts Building, and the Music Hall.

Shortly after becoming the Director of Decoration (also referred to as Director of Color), Millet suggested the use of white for the most prominent buildings that were to make up the Court of Honor. Later these buildings (and the Fair more broadly) would be known as the "White City." In October 1892 after some experimentation with an air compressor attached to an electric motor, Millet invented a paint machine to airbrush the exteriors of the buildings.

1. List of caricatures in the Burnham Collection.
2. Francis D. Millet by Robert L. Reid.
3. Sketch of Millet by Robert L. Reid.
4. Photographic reproduction of a portrait of Millet from The Final Official Report of the Director of Works of the World's Columbian Exposition by Daniel H. Burnham.