Walter Arnold Steffen
Born in 1924.
Died in 1982.
Walter Arnold Steffen (Saanen, 1924 – Zurich, 1982) was a Swiss painter and draughtsman associated with art brut. His life was marked by a difficult childhood and periods in care, followed by a succession of different jobs. From the 1950s onwards, he lived mainly in Zurich and began painting there.
He took part in exhibitions in Zurich and Bern in 1962 and 1965; in 1964, he received a Federal Fine Arts Scholarship. In 1969, he had a studio at the Künstlerhaus in Boswil and took part in the exhibition «Phantastische Figuration» at Zurich’s Helmhaus.
His paintings often feature isolated faces or faces gathered in groups, sometimes accompanied by candles. Religious motifs occupy an important place alongside flowers and still lifes of fruit. His drawings, particularly the self-portraits, are distinguished by their rapid line.
The works brought together under his name in Swiss public collections testify to the diversity of this production and its grounding in the history of Swiss art brut. His presence in the exhibition «Kunst im Verborgenen» in Aarau in 2019 extended the reception of these images through the dialogue between public collections and art brut.
