Walasse Ting was a Chinese-American painter, poet and author of art books, born on October 13, 1929, in Shanghai, China. He left China as a young man in 1946 and moved to Hong Kong before relocating to Paris in 1952. In Paris, Ting came into contact with the COBRA group through artists such as Asger Jorn, Karel Appel and Pierre Alechinsky, which influenced his artistic style.

In 1957, Ting moved to New York, where he was inspired by pop art and abstract expressionism. For the first few years, he worked on abstract art but later moved towards figurative art while showing elements of his Chinese roots. Ting was particularly known for his colorful paintings of nude women, animals, and birds.

Apart from his visual art, Ting was also the author of a number of books, including "1¢ Life," a portfolio of prints by 28 different artists that was published in 1964. He also wrote several books on art, including "Painting as Naked Poetry," which was published in 2000.

In his later years, Ting split his time between Amsterdam and New York. He died on May 17, 2010, at the age of 80 in New York City. His art can be found in several museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York.