Known as an historical illustrator and muralist, Walter Humphrey often received commissions for text book and magazine illustrations. "World Book Encyclopedia", "Liberty", "Colliers", and the "Saturday Evening Post", for whom he often did covers, were among his clients. He had a particular focus on Colonial America and the war for independence.

He initially studied at Dartmouth College and then went to the Art Students League of New York. In 1939, as an established painter and illustrator, he returned to Dartmouth to do a series of murals for the student cafeteria. The work became quite controversial in the 1970s when the first Indians were admitted as students because the murals depicted white cheerleaders in Native American war bon...