Alfred Wallis: Ships and Boats

Living in St.Ives, Cornwall and with no training, Wallis took up painting late in life ‘for company‘ after the death of his wife. Previously, he had worked as a mariner, crossing the Atlantic and later working smaller fishing boats. With only household oil paint in limited colours on found bits of card, Wallis made works that are, as he said himself, more experiences and events than paintings. ‘i do most what used To Be what we shall never see no more…’ he wrote to Jim Ede, creator of Kettle’s Yard, and one of his most ardent collectors.

On display in this exhibition were about forty paintings, from the reserve collection and the part of the house closed due to building work. They show what Wallis knew best: from brigantines and sailing boats to lug boats and motor vessels, often battling with an unpredictable sea. What shone out was Wallis’s exceptional natural talent.