Walter Anderson (1903-1965), an artist known for his vibrant watercolors, murals, pottery, and sculpture, also carved more than 300 linocuts. Among these were the first monumental block prints in American art. When Picasso produced his first large prints in 1952, Anderson's six-foot fairy tale linocuts were already hanging in museums in Memphis and New York.

Between 1933 and 1950, when American printmakers were restricted by the size of paper and competition rules, Anderson was carving blocks ranging in size from 6- x 4- to 6' x 4'. Gulf Coast flora and fauna, and myths, fairy...