During Anderson’s time in the mental hospitals from 1937-40 he wrote many letters to his wife, Sissy. On the backs of his letters he would illustrate a scene of the two of them at their cottage at Shearwater. In these idyllic images, cats sleep under pine trees or quietly observe their humans from the bottoms of pages. It is almost as though the cats have become metaphors for a contented home – something that the artist missed terribly during his time at the institutions. 
Home at Shearwater
Walter Inglis Anderson
C. 1938
Pencil on Paper
Courtesy of the Family of Walter Anderson

Bird’s Eye View of the Cottage
Walter Inglis Anderson
C. 1938
Pencil on Paper
Courtesy of the Family of Walter Anderson

Sissy with Zinnias
Walter Inglis Anderson
C. 1938
Pencil on Paper
Courtesy of the Family of Walter Anderson

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