Born in Germany, Walter Ufer immigrated to Louisville, Kentucky, with his family at the age of four. He later returned to Germany to study art in Hamburg and Dresden, and, after further training in Munich, traveled back to the United States, ultimately settling in Taos, New Mexico, where he established himself as part of a burgeoning artistic community and joined the Taos Society of Artists.
Originally trained as a lithographer, Ufer moved away from studio painting in favor of working outdoors in the region’s intense sunlight. He frequently depicted Pueblo people engaged in everyday activities within the New Mexican landscape. His work gained national recognition in 1920, when he became the first Taos artist to win a prize at the Carnegie International.
