In terms of photography, Walter Spies and Rudolph Bonnet are legends. Known as bohemians, their pictures are sensitive to Balinese romanticism. Spies, of German decent and born in Moscow in 1895, lived in Bali's creative mecca of Ubud for 15 years. In his early days there, Spies introduced paper, Indian ink and sketches to local artists.

With Bonnet, Spies set up Pita Mahai, a club of Balinese painters that provided free paint, brushes and canva