PETER DITTMAR

Walter Spies (1895-1942) was a Russian born, German artist who settled in the colonial Dutch East Indies from 1923 until his untimely death in 1942. He spent the early years in Java, but from 1927 onwards he lived in and around the village of Ubud in Bali at the invitation of the Prince of Ubud at the time - Tjokorda Raka Sukawati.

He was active in many areas of artistic and scientific endeavour although the focus of my work is going to be on his work as a painter. Spies, along with the Dutch artist Rudolf Bonnet, has been attributed with influencing the work of local Balinese artists, causing them to work in more modern genres and making their work more palatable for the fairly narrow tastes of western tourists of the time and since.

Painting of Walter Spies sold in Singapore at Criesties Auction in September 2001 for Singapore$ 1.700.000