Walter Lofthouse Dean (June 4, 1854 – March 13, 1912) was an American marine painter, commodore of the Boston Yacht Club and Vice President of the Boston Art Club. Dean was one of the most prominent members in Boston, Massachusetts of the Paint and Clay Club, the Art Club, the Society of Water Color Painters, the South Boston Art Club and was also a member of the Salmagundi Club of New York and on the Massachusetts jury of paintings for the 1900 Paris Exposition.

Dean was also one of first artists to work primarily from Gloucester, Massachusetts, where he worked for 25 summers from a large studio on Rocky Neck, and later settled year round. While Dean is primarily known for marine paintings from the Boston region, he also created a wide-range of art from his travels to France, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, England, Canada and Puerto Rico.