98 A BICENTENNIAL HISTORY OF MISSISSIPPI WALTER ANDERSON In 1918, Annette McConnell Anderson purchased twenty-four acres of land in Ocean Springs, and four years later, Annette, her husband, and three sons (Walter, Peter, and James McConnell “Mac”) moved from New Orleans to Ocean Springs. Walter Anderson spent most of his life observing, drawing, and painting plant and animal life on the Gulf Coast. He found the barrier islands in the undeveloped coastal region to be best for his close studies of nature. Anderson’s block prints, watercolors, and ceramics have become historical representations of the Mississippi Coast. Annette and Peter started Shearwater Pottery in 1928. Peter would throw pottery and Walter and Mac would decorate these figurines known as “widgets.” The Walter Anderson Museum of Art opened in 1991 in Ocean Springs. The museum is dedicated to all three of the Anderson brothers. Walter Anderson was a painter, Peter Anderson was a potter, and James Anderson was a painter and ceramist. The museum’s collection is filled with watercolors, drawings, oils, block prints, ceramics, and carvings represented in more than 1,000 objects. Neighboring the museum is Walter Anderson’s largest mural located on the Ocean Springs Community Center. PHOTOS BY GREG CAMPBELL