Journey of the Islander

Mississippi artist Walter Anderson lived a life centered on his home place, the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and the imagery that he produced preserves that quickly vanishing environment. Between 1948 and his death in 1965, in all seasons, and in every kind of weather, Anderson would take a small rowboat 12 miles to the small Gulf barrier island known as Horn Island. Using the boat as shelter, he camped there for weeks or months depicting the flora and fauna native to that ecosystem. He also produced work at his family’s pottery, Shearwater, and at Oldfields, a farm that he shared with his family.

This exhibition from the collections of the Walter Anderson Museum in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, assembles work in virtually all the media that this amazing artist utilized to capture his world. In paintings, drawings, prints, and ceramics he focuses on the plants, animals, and landscapes that are distinctive to the Gulf Coast.