Walter Inglis Anderson papers, circa 1915-1960

Collection Information

Size: 6 Microfilm reels, 3.6 linear feet on 6 microfilm reels

Summary: 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 Note

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.

Provenance

Material on reels 4867-4868 was lent for microfilming by the Family of Walter Anderson, 1993. Material on reels 4869-4872, was lent for microfilming by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, 1993.

Related Materials

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

Language Note

English .

Location of Originals

• Reels 4867-4868: Originals returned to the Family of Walter Anderson after microfilming.
• Reels 4869-4872: Originals returned to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History after microfilming.