Alfons Walde

(Austrian, 1891–1958)

Alfons Walde was an Austrian landscape and farm painter. Inspired by the mountainous landscape of his homeland, he is best known for colorful, playful images of winter scenes and sports, notably including Bergweiler (1935), one of his most famous works, which depicts a ski resort populated by dynamic figures rendered in bright, contrasting colors. He would continue to create works in this vein using natural surroundings and mountain activities as his primary subjects until his retirement. Walde was born on February 8, 1891, in Oberndorf, Austria and studied architecture at Vienna’s Technische Hochshule. While living in the capital, he moonlighted as a painter and was among the social milieu of Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt, and was highly influenced by the work of realist painter Ferdinand Holder. Walde participated in his first major exhibition of the Vienna Secession in 1914, showcasing four farm paintings made using tempera and impasto technique. Walde interrupted his art career to fight during World War I, but returned unscathed to work as a graphic artist before devoting himself entirely to painting. Walde died of heart failure on December 11, 1958 in Kitzbühel, Austria.