Lunchtime Lecture

The Museum periodically hosts Lunchtime Lectures to accompany permanent and changing exhibits. This program features guest lecturers including scholars, historians, artists and book authors to name a few who speak from 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM. These presentations are free and open to the public with limited seating and audience members are always welcome to bring a brown bag lunch. When available, guest speaker presentations will be made available online.

Walter Anderson’s Interpretation of Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland Presented by Mattie Codling

  • Location: Brick Gallery
  • Date: April 8, 2026
  • Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
  • Admission: FREE

The West Baton Rouge Museum will host a lunchtime lecture on Wednesday, April 8 at Noon. This presentation will delve into some of the surrounding factors that influenced Walter Anderson’s interpretation of Lewis Carroll’s classic tale, Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland. Join us as we jump “down the rabbit hole” and into the world of Anderson’s Alice presented by Executive Director at the Walter Anderson Museum of Art (WAMA), Mattie Codling. 

In the early 1940’s, Gulf Coast artist and adventurer, Walter Inglis Anderson studied and drew illustrations of some of the greatest works of Western literature – Don Quixote, Paradise Lost, The Epic of Charlemagne, The Voyage of the Beagle, and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Thousands of drawings were composed by the artist and many of these wonderful works survive today. Walter Anderson created around 200 illustrations for the story of little Alice. They are full of lyrical lines, humor, and even pay a delicate nod to surrealist artists who had similarly studied and depicted the work. 

Before her role as Executive Director at WAMA in Ocean Springs, MS., Mattie Codling was the Museum’s Director of Collections and Exhibitions for nine years. Her passion lies in preserving the artwork of Walter Inglis Anderson and making it accessible to the public. Along with the staff at the Museum, Codling seeks to develop new ways of connecting the Museum to the greater community and providing opportunities for creativity, education, and environmental literacy.   

Codling earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Mississippi in art history and anthropology and completed her Master’s work in art history and museum studies at Florida State University. She has worked for the University of Mississippi Museum in Oxford, MS, Mission San Luis Archaeological Park in Tallahassee, FL, and the Ohr-O’keefe Museum in Biloxi, MS.

This program is being offered in conjunction with the current exhibit, Finding Alice: Artists Exploring Wonderland featuring Abelardo Morell on view through May 24, 2026. This exhibition is toured by Exhibits USA, the national touring exhibition program of Mid-America Arts Alliance.  Inspired by Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, first published in 1865, the exhibition explores the enduring influence of the classic story on artists across generations through photography, illustration, and book art.

This FREE event is open to the public. Anyone attending is welcome to bring a brown bag lunch or visit local eateries in the area before or after the presentation.