Walter Lofthouse Dean

American (1854-1912)

Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, Walter Dean pursued his artistic studies at the Massachusetts Normal Art School as well as at the Academie Julian in Paris in 1883, studying there with Lefebvre and Boulanger. Dean was a member of the Boston Art Club, the Salmagundi Club and the Copley Society, and exhibited his works at the National Academy of Design from 1881-1896 and at the Boston Art Club from 1879-1909, as well as at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine, the Corcoran Gallery and the Art Institute of Chicago.

An expert sailor from an early age, Dean returned to Boston in the late 1880s, purchased a yacht, which he used to sail along the Massachusetts coast, capturing maritime scenes around Gloucester and Cape Ann. During the winter months Dean painted in his studio in Boston, and in the summer months spent time at his studio in Gloucester or painted while out sailing on his yacht.