Reception for Anderson’s Alice Book and Illustrations

In 1942, Walter Anderson began drawing some of his favorite tales from literature. These works were never meant to be viewed publicly and the artist likely didn’t even think of them as illustrations. What they were was even more magical - they were realizations of the stories that he read late at night, turning the pages of a book with his left hand and drawing with his right. One of those “realized” stories was Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. These illustrations are full of whimsy and Anderson’s iconic line, bringing Alice’s story to the Gulf South. The young heroine chases the rabbit through coastal pine savannas, weaving between pine lilies, sundews, and pitcher plants. A Mississippi blue crab waves from its pages and dolphins play in the waters.

Forty years after its original printing, the Walter Anderson Museum of Art has brought this work of art back into…