 These responsibilities and World War I combined to condemn him to what was a frustrating life as a merchant, however successful, until after his father's death and the conclusion of the war.Throughout his business career, Louis DeWachter maintained an atelier in his home and was essentially a Sunday painter.He signed his works "Louis Dewis" (pronounced Lew-WEE Dew-WEES), because his father refused to allow him to sully the family name by associating it with such a frivolous undertaking.