“It is clear from the reactions of many people who view Spie's work that he can strike a deep cord of understanding of the tropical landscape and its significance. Margaret Mead reported how some Balinese painters "treated his work with a kind of awe which they reserved for the miraculous, and there is one story of a group of them kneeling when they encountered one of his paintings in the Chinese shop in Denpesar. At the same time he became involved in conservation in the widest sense, investigating archeological finds, gathering artefacts for the Bali museum and establishing and guiding an association of painters. The government frequently drew on his expertise. ”
