Walter Spies (15 September 1895  19 January 1942) was a Russian-born German primitivist painter. In 1923 he came to Java, living first in Yogyakarta and then in Ubud, Bali starting in 1927. He is often credited with attracting the attention of Western cultural figures to Balinese culture and art. As a German national in the Dutch East Indies during World War II, Spies was arrested and deported. However, a Japanese bomb hit the ship that was carrying him to Ceylon, and most of the prisoners on the ship, including Spies, drowned.