The Secret World of Walter Anderson

by Hester Bass, E. B. Lewis (Illustrator)

Overview

“A gorgeous chronicle of a versatile southern American artist.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

In a beautifully crafted biography, Hester Bass and Caldecott Honor winner E. B. Lewis pay homage to the most famous American artist you’ve never heard of. Reclusive nature-lover Walter Anderson spent weeks at a time on an uninhabited island, sketching and painting the natural surroundings and animals to create some of his most brilliant watercolors, which he kept hidden during his lifetime.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763635831
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	09/08/2009
Series:	Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	9.80(w) x 10.70(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	NC850L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

  

Editorial Reviews

This sensitive portrait of Anderson—“the most famous American artist you’ve never heard of”—paints him as a solitary man who kept a private room hidden from his wife and children and often took his rowboat to the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s isolated Horn Island to glean inspiration. Subdued watercolors evoke the artist’s love of the natural world, as he paints the coastal setting, eats in the shade of his boat and meanders among wild hogs and raccoons. Following Anderson’s death in 1965, his wife opens the room that he kept locked, discovering “the walls were covered with paintings of a Gulf Coast day.” A powerful tribute to the lengths artists will go for their passions. Ages 6–10. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Gr 2–6—Born in New Orleans in 1903, this naturalist/painter "…may be the most famous American artist you've never heard of." Anderson grew up on the coast of the Mississippi River. He is best known for his Horn Island watercolors. This wild, uninhabited island was his inspiration and refuge for weeks at a time—his only shelter, the rowboat he used to get there. He would climb trees and wade in the water to capture his subjects; "Art was an adventure, and Walter Anderson was an explorer, first class." While a museum in Ocean Springs, LA, eventually housed much of his art, Hurricane Katrina destroyed the family's personal collection, and Anderson's cottage was left in ruins. Through simple language and quirky details, Bass makes an eccentric, unknown subject exciting and accessible to children. A lengthy author's note includes a more detailed account of Anderson's unorthodox life as well as reproductions of his work. Lewis's watercolors, in the blues, greens, grays, and browns of nature, capture the isolated beauty and wildness of the island. Enrich units on American artists or the environment with this title.—Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools

School Library Journal

A gorgeous chronicle of a versatile southern American artist. "There once was a man whose love of nature was as wide as the world. / There once was an artist who needed to paint as much as he needed to breathe." Bass's text about Walter Anderson structures some sequential sentences with parallel beginnings, creating a sense of layered depth. The story section reads lyrically, and a lengthy (ten pages!) author's note adds reproductions and useful biographical detail (mental illness, media variety, historical preservation of the art) for older readers. Superb watercolor technique, dramatic angles and moody shifts of light show the artist on beaches, in boats and on his favorite island. Anderson appears on most pages but Lewis often cleverly obscures his face, emphasizing water, wildlife and landscape over human individuality, matching Anderson's own values. The illustration of a secret room whose walls Anderson painted in oils doesn't reveal exactly what the text describes; following the bibliography, however, comes a treat-a clear photo of that exquisite hidden room, perfect for comparison with Lewis's watercolor version. (bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews

A gorgeous chronicle of a versatile southern American artist… Superb watercolor technique, dramatic angles and moody shifts of light.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

From the Publisher