The Songs of the Fifty States: Mississippi

(What is "The Songs of the Fifty States"?)

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Mississippi artist Walter Inglis Anderson, Reflections in a Pool

Mississippi!

Size: 125,443 km² (32nd)

2012 Population: 2,984,926 (31st)

Statehood: 1817 (20th)

American Human Development Index: 3.93 (48th)


Art Mecca: The only obvious game in town is the Mississippi Museum of Art, in Jacksonville.  It looks to be a credible regional institution, with a mission to showcase Mississippi and the South balanced with an impulse to give broader art history the old college try.  MMA claims, perhaps a little defensively, that it "has amassed a meaningful survey of American art," and their description of their international holdings, even while dropping some impressive names, hints at a bit of a hit-or-miss collection:

British nineteenth century portraits are represented with examples by Thomas Lawrence and Thomas Sully, while impressions by Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Marc Chagall, and Rembrandt are among the highlights of the European prints. An important collection of Pre-Columbian ceramics further demonstrates the diversity of the permanent collection.

As you might expect from a Southern art museum, one of the strong suits of the MMA holdings appears to be "outsider art."


I note, incidentally, that admission is peanuts and that the Museum campus is easy-off, easy-on to I-20 and I-55.  It's an obvious choice to break up your next trip across the Magnolia State.

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Michael 5000's Mississippi

First Visited: May 10, 2003 (43rd)
Most Recently Visited: May 17, 2003 (38th)

First Run In: n/a
Best Run: n/a

Have Slept Overnight In: Yes.

Have Admired the Visual Arts In: No.

Counties Visited: 20/82 (21st)
% Complete: 24.4% (34th)

Mrs. 5000's Counties Visited: 20/82 (19th)
% Complete: 24.4% (31st)
Mrs.5000 First Visited: May 10, 2003 (48th)

Atlas of All Roads Travelled

Plans and Aspirations

I've got no particular plans for Mississippi at this time.