Lot 318: Lalla Walker Lewis (American/Mississippi,

Lalla Walker Lewis (American/Mississippi, 1912-2006), "River Baptismal", oil on canvasboard, signed lower left, 16 in. x 19 7/8 in., in a giltwood frame.

Reference: Black, Patti Carr, Art in Mississippi, 1720-1980, University Press of Mississippi, Jackson, 1998, p. 203.

Note: Born and raised in Greenwood, Mississippi, Lalla Walker Lewis studied art at Mississippi University for Women and later at Newcomb College. Known as both a print-maker and painter, Lewis was employed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to create a series of woodblock prints of scenes of Mississippi life. She also painted a mural for the Greenwood Public Library and exhibited at the Delgado Museum of Art (today NOMA), Brooks Art Gallery in Memphis, Carnegie Institute, and Mississippi Art Association. In the colorful and engaging painting, "River Baptismal", Lewis depicts a group of African-Americans gathered along the river bank.