Exhibit Opening - E.B. Lewis: Creating “The Secret World of Walter Anderson”

News item published on: 2012-03-27 14:06:30

The award-winning picture book biography, The Secret World of Walter Anderson by Hester Bass, illustrated by Caldecott Honor winner E. B. Lewis, has introduced many new admirers to the life and work of American artist Walter Anderson. Now step behind the scenes and see how this beautiful book was produced by attending the exhibit “E. B. Lewis: Creating The Secret World of Walter Anderson” at the Historic Hattiesburg Downtown Train Depot.

The de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection and the City of Hattiesburg will host the exhibition, E. B. Lewis: Creating “The Secret World of Walter Anderson” from April 11, 2012 through Thursday, April 26. Everyone is invited to attend an Opening Reception on Saturday, April 14, from 5:30 until 7:30, with both Bass and Lewis in attendance during the Downtown Hattiesburg Art Walk.

Visitors will experience the inspired conversation between a 20th century American master and a masterful 21st century artist on a journey through the creative process – from photographs to sketches to paintings – illustrating the extraordinary life of Walter Anderson, the man “who needed to paint as much as he needed to breathe.” Featuring nearly 50 original works by E. B. Lewis and 18 original Walter Anderson works, the exhibition is organized and guest-curated by Clayton Bass, former director of the Walter Anderson Museum of Art.

The exhibit will remain open during the month of April from Wednesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. through 4:00 p.m., and on Sundays from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. The public is invited to the Opening Reception to be held on Saturday, April 14 at the Historic Downtown Train Depot, Newman St. E. B. Lewis, Hester Bass, and Clayton Bass will be in attendance. You may purchase copies of The Secret World of Walter Anderson at Main Street Books in Downtown Hattiesburg, and then get your copies signed by both the author and the illustrator, and discover the personal paradise Walter Anderson found on Horn Island, the secrets he left behind in Ocean Springs, and the transformative power of art.

Credit for the exhibit must be given to the following entities:

The City of Hattiesburg
Visit Hattiesburg
The Historic Hattiesburg Downtown Association
The Hattiesburg Art Association
The Hattiesburg Concert Association
The University of Southern Mississippi Libraries