Born in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of a German immigrant who was a master engraver, Walter Ufer began his art training as an apprentice to a Louisville commercial lithographer. Having excelled in his field, he continued his education at the Royal Applied Art Schools and the Royal Academy in Dresden, Germany. Already a successful printer, Ufer decided to utilize his realistic painting style developed in Europe by becoming a fine artist. He attended the Art Institute of Chicago, then the J. Francis Smith Art School in Chicago from 1901 to 1903, where he became a teacher and concentrated mostly on portrait painting. He worked with Armour & Co's advertising department from 1905 to 1911. For the next two years he furthered his studies under the tutelage of Walter Thor in Munich. Upon completing his studies, he traveled to Paris, Italy and throughout North Africa painting as he went. In 1914 Ufer moved to Taos. Called "energetic, outspoken and uninhibited" as well as "stormy, irascible and intransigent," he quickly made his mark on the art community. He was said to paint "easily recognizable forms in an anecdotal manner." He was the only Taos artist to ever be compared to Cezanne. In 1920 he won third prize at the Carnegie International, a breakthrough in prestige for Taos and a real feather in Ufer's cap, whose prices went from $3,000 per painting to an annual income of approximately $50,000. In 1923, Ufer's dealer persuaded him to specialize in paintings of an Indian on a white horse against the background of Taos Mountain. This contrived approach soon failed and Ufer was left broken emotionally. He borrowed money, gambled it all away and drank heavilyWALTER UFER, NA (1837-1936) Born in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of a German immigrant who was a master engraver, Walter Ufer began his art training as an apprentice to a Louisville commercial lithographer. Having excelled in his field, he continued his education at the Royal Applied Art Schools and the Royal Academy in Dresden, Germany. Already a successful printer, Ufer decided to utilize his realistic painting style developed in Europe by becoming a fine artist. He attended the Art Institute of Chicago, then the J. Francis Smith Art School in Chicago from 1901 to 1903, where he became a teacher and concentrated mostly on portrait painting. He worked with Armour & Co's advertising department from 1905 to 1911. For the next two years he furthered his studies under the tutelage of Walter Thor in Munich. Upon completing his studies, he traveled to Paris, Italy and throughout North Africa painting as he went. In 1914 Ufer moved to Taos. Called "energetic, outspoken and uninhibited" as well as "stormy, irascible and intransigent," he quickly made his mark on the art community. He was said to paint "easily recognizable forms in an anecdotal manner." He was the only Taos artist to ever be compared to Cezanne. In 1920 he won third prize at the Carnegie International, a breakthrough in prestige for Taos and a real feather in Ufer's cap, whose prices went from $3,000 per painting to an annual income of approximately $50,000. In 1923, Ufer's dealer persuaded him to specialize in paintings of an Indian on a white horse against the background of Taos Mountain. This contrived approach soon failed and Ufer was left broken emotionally. He borrowed money, gambled it all away and drank heavily . In a 1927 letter to Ernest Blumenschein, Ufer wrote "If I had money, I would be doing something more manly than paint pictures. My regret is that I cannot compete with real towering men." Today his paintings are highly sought after and he is considered one of the most important artists to ever have come out of Taos.