Walter Moras

Walter Moras was a German landscape painter known above all for his winter scenes. Born in Berlin in 1856, he trained in the studio of the marine and landscape painter Hermann Eschke, and though he carried the label of a Berlin painter, he rarely painted the city itself. Instead he roamed the countryside of Brandenburg and the Spreewald and traveled as far as Norway, the Netherlands, and Italy in search of subjects.

His style was realistic and a touch melancholic, plain and refined rather than showy, with occasional hints of Impressionism. He understood the muted light of snow and the warm colors of autumn, and his large fall landscapes glow with that seasonal warmth. Moras kept his distance from Berlin's artist associations and colonies, working on his own terms, and his son Bruno followed him into painting without ever stepping out of his shadow.