One World, Two Artists Exhibit

In collaboration with the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, the University of Mississippi Museum is putting on an exhibit that offers different paintings from two different artists whose works reflect their southern descent.

The exhibit “One World, Two Artists” offers a variety of different works from collections of both John Alexander and Walter Anderson. Though the two have diverse backgrounds, they both reveal their interest in different Gulf Coast species through their similar artwork.

Walter Anderson , after being diagnosed with serious depression in early adulthood, spent much of his time in Ocean Springs, Miss. and often visited Horn Lake, which is a barrier of islands on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. He endured extreme weather conditions and went out into thickets in order to realize and understand his subjects, which consisted of island vegetation, animals, birds, and insects. His many paintings in the exhibit feature species from brightly colored hummingbirds to a sunset at Horn Island.

John Alexander, who was born in Beaumont, Texas, grew up in the oil region of Southeast Texas. He received a Bachelor of Fine Art from Lamar University and then went on to receive a Master of Fine Arts degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. His work was influenced not only by teachers and fellow students but by his exposure to the collection of the Dallas Museum of Fine Art. His paintings in the exhibit feature species like flounder, pelicans, and storks. He uses dark watercolor in his works, unlike the vivid coloring Anderson uses.

"I absolutely love it," says Tracy Stricklin, an employee at the museum. "My favorite is the Anderson parrot painting from Jane and Jimmy Buffett's collection," which is the very first painting in the long hallway of Anderson's works. "It's the largest show we've had since I've been here."

The exhibit will be shown from August 23 to December 3, 2011.