There are no photographs of Walter Moras, no self-portraits, not even a portrait painted by a friend. He apparently also did not paint his wife Ida or his son Bruno. Even though Bruno Moras become a painter himself, he never immortalized his parents in a painting. Not even family photos have been found so far. It is quite possible that everything was lost in a fire during World War II. One can find the former apartments of the Moras family in Berlin 's old address books; their houses however do not exist anymore. The neighborhoods and some of the renovated houses still give an impression of how the Moras family might have lived.

Thankfully, many paintings by Walter Moras have survived the stormy times. In the past 20 years alone, his paintings were offered in over 100 art auctions all over Europe . There is neither a catalog raisonné, nor an inventory of his estate. His presence in museums is slim. Hans F. Scheers mentions Walter Moras in Volume 1 of his “Gemälde in deutschen Museen/ Paintings in German museums” of the 19 th century only three times. According to my research, there should be about 200 paintings privately owned by collectors and friends of the painter.

Strangely, there are no comments on his work by himself or even remarks about him by his known contemporaries. His mention in Thieme/Becker is some sort of knightly accolade, but in fact offers wrong annual details.

The information in Boetticher's “Malerwerke des 19. Jahrhunderts/ Paintings of the 19 th century” on exhibitions Walter Moras took part in, as well as sales he made through well-known art dealer Rudolph Lepke, however, is insightful and relevant. Walter Moras was not a member of the Berlin Künstlerverein, though given his talent this certainly would have been an option. Furthermore, his tutor Prof. Hermann Eschke was established there and would have surely paved the way for him. Walter Moras was also not connected to the Norddeutsche Künstlerkolonie despite his many travels in the area for his plein-air work. Also, he must have ­encountered its most famous representatives Carl Malchin, Paul Müller-Kaempff, Friedrich Wachenhusen as well as others at various exhibitions in Berlin or of the Kunstverein Bremen. He also personally knew the slightly older Louis Dozette, a successful student of Hermann Eschke and well-known “moon light” painter.

The Schlossmuseum in Lübben dedicated an exhibition to Walter Moras' oeuvre in 2007 and showcased an important segment of his work: the Spreewald. It is about time to solve the riddle of his life and work and to make the landscapist Walter Moras as famous as his paintings. This is why I attempt a first biography on my website.

I was able to trace the personal data of Walter Moras and his son Bruno in the historical population index of Berlin . The Protestant central archive of Berlin also held Walter Moras' baptismal certificate with detailed information on his parents. A distant relative owned the Moras family‘s genealogy, which fortunately branches out quite a bit. This demonstrates that his ancestors stem from the Rhineland . The landscapist Walter Moras was the first of his family born in Berlin .