Alfred Wallis

Alfred Wallis (1855-1942)

A fisherman since childhood Alfred Wallis moved to St Ives in 1890 where he set up as a marine scrap merchant. he retired in 1912 and only started to paint after he death of his wife in 1922. Wallis was discovered in 1928 by Ben Nicholson and Christopher Wood, his subjects included ships at sea, shipwrecks and landscapes. wallis regarded his paintings as a impressions of his experiences. Unaware of linear perspective Wallis arranged objects in terms of relative importance, this determined their size. he used very few colours he is associated with dark browns, greys whites and 'Cornish' greens.

Despite the attention from Wood and Nicholson Alfred Wallis sold very few paintings in his lifetime and continued to live in poverty and died in Madron Workhouse, Penzance.