SPECK, Walter Edward

“Catalina Pottery,” Santa Catalina Island
watercolor by Walter Speck, 1933
Gift to the Santa Cruz Island Foundation
from the estate of Bill Stern (2020)

Walter Speck painting the "Ford Riot Mural", a United Auto Workers mural in Detriot, Michigan as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Art Project in 1937.

SPECK, Walter Edward (1896-1979) was born in Detroit, MI on Aug. 29, 1896. Speck studied in Paris with John P. Wicker and Othon Freisz. Speck became known for his portrayal of the feelings of the common man during the great depression and the dust bowl.

While on Santa Catalina Island in 1933, he painted a view of the Catalina Pottery Factory.

He was active first in Michigan and then in California. Speck died in Los Angeles on Oct. 11, 1979.