30 Years on Mud Island

By Devin Greaney

March, 2018

It was a clear Sunday afternoon a few years ago at Greenbelt Park on Mud Island when a hike showed something I had not noticed. It was that time of year when Memphis was getting just getting into summer but not yet the stifling heat and humidity. People were looking out over the Mississippi River, kids were playing, adults running, dogs fetching and families picnicking as the sun was getting lower. Most of Memphians were off work knowing the next day most would be back for the first of five days. Time to savor the last hours of freedom. It was then I noticed this scene evoked George Seurat's "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte." Had George been born a Memphian he would have set his easel here for is 1886 masterpiece.