On June 18, 2022, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences: Southeast Chapter named producers Robert St. John and Anthony Thaxton the winners of Regional Emmy for Outstanding Documentary— Historical at the Southeast EMMY® Awards. Anthony Thaxton’s son, Bryant Thaxton, was also awarded Outstanding Musical Composition/Arrangement for his musical score of the documentary. The awards recognize their film, Walter Anderson: The Extraordinary Life and Art of The Islander, which premiered on Mississippi Public Broadcasting last November.
“My co-producer did the heavy lifting on this project,” St. John said. “Anthony directed, wrote, edited, filmed, and sound engineered the entire thing. We were a two-man production team. I’m proud to have been a part, and proud now that the documentary is going nationwide. Our goal from day one was to make sure people from Portland Oregon to Portland Maine would know the genius of Mississippian Walter Anderson, the man, and his art.”
Robert St. John and Anthony Thaxton discussed the idea of creating this documentary three and a half years ago while filming the PBS series Palate to Palette at the Walter Anderson Museum of Art.
“It was a labor of love,” said Thaxton, a watercolorist himself who always admired Anderson. He is thrilled at the critical acclaim and popular response of the film. “Walter Anderson is a Mississippi treasure, and producing this new look at his life and art with Robert St. John has been an honor.”
Through poignant family interviews, never-before-seen artwork, and breathtaking images from Anderson’s beloved Horn Island, the filmmakers presented a fresh look at the genius who has been called “the South's greatest artist."
This dream team of St. John and Thaxton also created a visual masterpiece in the form of an accompanying book that shares the documentary film’s title. This beautiful 276-page coffee table book spent 19 weeks on the Mississippi Reads bestseller list with 5 weeks in the #1 slot.
Regional Emmy® Awards are given in nineteen regions across the United States. The Southeast Chapter’s ceremony was held on Saturday, June 18, at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead. The documentary Walter Anderson: The Extraordinary Life and Art of The Islander was nominated in four categories, bringing home the statuettes for two.
The film will air nationwide on American Public Television stations in August as well as multiple broadcasts the same month on the World Channel, another PBS network operated by WGBH Boston.
The documentary can be viewed at WalterAndersonFilm.com and the accompanying book can be purchased at RobertStJohn.com.
