Chromium oxide green was introduced to artists in the 1860s and quickly became valued for its extraordinary permanence. Unlike the fugitive plant-based greens and the somewhat unstable copper-based greens of earlier painting, chromium oxide offered a permanent, non-toxic alternative. Its dull, earthy quality was initially seen as a limitation but later valued for its naturalistic, matte character.

Solid, permanent, and military. Chromium oxide is the green of endurance — dull enough to be non-threatening, permanent enough to outlast everything else. Its association with military camouflage and institutional paint gives it a utilitarian character. Used in painting, it creates greens of extraordinary solidity and earth-connection.

Chromium oxide green is used in camouflage paint systems for military vehicles and equipment worldwide — its specific spectral properties help equipment blend with vegetation in infrared imaging as well as visible light. The colour's association with the military has made "army green" or "military green" near-synonymous with chromium oxide's particular dull, opaque green.