Walter Lofthouse Dean work location United States of America
Family
Walter Lofthouse Dean was born on June 4, 1854, in Lowell, Massachusetts, in Middlesex County. He was the third son of the Honorable Benjamin Dean and Mary Ann (French) Dean, who were related to several of the best-known families of the region.  Walter Dean's grandparents, Benjamin Dean and Alice Lofthouse Dean, of Clitheroe, England, moved to the United States of America in 1829, when Benjamin, an engraver and designer, entered the employ of the Merrimack Print Works.Dean's father, Benjamin Dean was born in Clitheroe, England in 1824, and became a prominent Boston lawyer, a US Congressman and a 33-degree Mason who served as grand master of the Grand Commandery of the United States from 1880 to 1883. His mother, Mary Ann French, was born to Josiah Bowers French, a bank president and former Mayor of Lowell, and his wife, Mary Anne Stevens of Billerica, Massachusetts.Dean had three brothers and two sisters. He never knew his oldest brother, Josiah French Dean, who died before the age of two. His second oldest brother, Benjamin Wheelock Dean, was a contractor who married Annie Page of South Boston. His younger sister, Clitheroe, was born in South Boston and married Charles L. James of Brookline. His youngest brother, Josiah Stevens Dean married May Lillian Smith in 1888 and became a prominent Boston lawyer and judge who died in 1941. Dean's youngest sister, Mary Dean, was born in Lowell and married Walter Tufts.Dean married Katharine Bates Whiting of Boston on July 1, 1874 and together they had two daughters, May (1875) and Clitheroe (1879).Peace (1891)
Perhaps Dean's most important work, Peace (see image) is a large painting (9 × 6.25 ft or 274 × 191 cm) depicting the original US Navy fleet at rest in Boston Harbor. Peace was completed in 1891, exhibited widely from 1891 to 1900, placed in the US Capitol in 1900 and purchased by the US Government in 1928. Known variously as "The White Squadron" and "The Squadron of Evolution", this impressive fleet of white-hulled, ironclad, steam and sail-powered naval war ships was built to protect America's growing commercial ventures at sea in the late 19th century.An 1895 article in the Boston Sunday Journal had the following to say about Peace.Peace is perhaps the best known marine work of an American artist. It pleased the public as soon as it was shown [to] them, for it was almost the first prominent attempt made to introduce modern war ships into real art. When the North Atlantic squadron came into Boston Harbor a few years ago, Mr. Dean anchored his yacht alongside the white war ships, and secured studies for his painting.
The US House Resolution 5454 in 1900, which proposed to purchase "Peace" for $15,000, states the following:The bill proposes to purchase an historical painting entitled "Peace" by Walter L. Dean of Boston, Massachusetts. It represents "The Squadron of Evolution," better known as "The White Squadron," as constituted in 1891, lying peacefully at anchor in the harbor of Boston. This squadron is the nucleus of the present Navy. The Chicago as originally constructed was bark rigged, and it is in the foreground of the painting. The Boston and Atlanta are represented as brig rigged, while the Newark is bark rigged and the Yorktown is schooner rigged. These vessels have since been reconstructed to meet modern requirements, so that their original identity has been lost. "Peace" shows them as originally constructed, and is a means of keeping in view the type of ship which started the Navy of which every American is justly proud. There is no question among the minds of your committee but what it is perfectly proper that this historical painting should be owned by the Government and hung in a suitable place in the Capitol building.
The painting is 9 feet long [274 cm] by 6 feet 3 inches high [191 cm]. Wherever it has been exhibited nothing but praise has been bestowed upon it. It was shown at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1892 [1893], where it occupied a place of honor in the United States section of the fine arts department. It was then exhibited at the St. Louis Museum of Fine Arts, and afterwards sent to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. It was next shown in the art gallery of the Massachusetts Mechanic's Association fair, and later in the public library under the auspices of the Worcester Art Society. Later it was sent to the Tennessee Centennial Exposition at Nashville, and also to the public library at Bridgeport, Conn. Then at the Boston South End Exposition, and last summer at Poland Springs, Me. Where it was placed in the building which had previously been the Maine State Building at the Chicago Exposition. In all these places this work of art occupied the place of honor and received many awards.
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