Walter Inglis Anderson papers

Scope and Contents

The Walter Inglis Anderson papers, microfilmed on reels 4867-4868, include letters from Anderson (referred to as Bob) to his parents, mostly from boarding school in Manlius, New York (1915-1919), and from New York City and Philadelphia while attending the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1922-1928); correspondence with his wife Agnes Grinstead (referred to as Sissy); writings, including Anderson's logbooks of his travels to Hong Kong (circa 1949), and boat trip to Graveline and Oldfields, Mississippi, as well as his account of pelicans and copies of his favorite poems; and six sketchbooks. Papers microfilmed on reels 4869-4872 include logbooks, both bound and on loose pages, recording Anderson's travels. Notable logbooks record travels to the Gulf Coast's Chandeleur and Horn Islands; others describe his trips out-of-state and abroad, as well as Anderson's activities while living at Oldfields in Gautier, Mississippi. Also included are several files of loose pages containing Anderson's commentaries on a variety of subjects including nature, the arts, religion, philosophy, and poetry, as well as Anderon's notes on Ancient Near Eastern and Greek and Egyptian art.

Biographical / Historical

Walter Inglis Anderson (1903-1965) was a painter, muralist, printmaker, and sculptor in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. He attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia from 1923 to 1929. In the 1930s, Anderson painted murals for the Ocean Springs School auditorium for the Works Progress Administration Public Works of Art Project. In 1940, following hospitalization for mental illness, Anderson moved to Oldfields, near Gautier, Mississippi. He returned to Ocean Springs in 1946 and from 1947 until his death he traveled repeatedly to Horn Island and other remote sites on the Gulf Coast to paint and write. In 1991, the Walter Anderson Museum of Art opened in Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

Related Materials

The University of Southern Mississippi Libraries de Grummond Children's Literature Collection holds the Walter Anderson Papers, circa 1945-1980s.