Alfred Wallis

>Alfred Wallis 2004-12-27T02:22:51Z WhisperToMe '''Alfred Wallis''' ([[18 August]] [[1855]] - [[29 August]] [[1942]]) was an [[England|English]] fisherman and artist. Details of Wallis' early life are uncertain, but he settled in [[St. Ives]], [[Cornwall]], in 1890. In 1912, he retired from a lifetime working as a deep sea fisherman. Following his wife's death in 1922, Wallis took up painting to 'keep himself company', as he later told [[Jim Ede]]. His paintings are an excellent example of [[naïve art|naïve]] or primitive art — they ignore [[perspective]] and an object's [[scale]] is often based on its relative importance in the scene. This gives many of his paintings a map-like quality. Wallis painted his [[seascape]]s from memory, in large part because the world of sail he knew was being replaced by steam ships. Having no money, Wallis improvised with materials, mostly painting on cardboard ripped from packing boxes. In some ways, Wallis' timing was excellent. In 1928, a few years after he'd started painting, [[Ben Nicholson]] and [[Christopher Wood|Kit Wood]] came to [[St. Ives]] and established an artist colony. They were delighted to find Wallis, celebrating his direct approach to image making. As such, Wallis was propelled into a circle of the some of most progressive artists working in Britain in the [[1930]]s. The influence was all one way — Wallis continued to paint as he always had. Through Nicholson and Wood, Wallis was introduced to [[Jim Ede]] who promoted his work in London. Despite this attention, Wallis sold few of his paintings and continued to live in poverty until he died in the Madron [[Workhouse]] in Penzance. Examples of his paintings can be seen at [[Kettle's Yard]] (Jim Ede's home) and at the [[Tate St Ives]]. == External links == *[http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ArtistWorks?artistid=577&page=1&tabview=lightbox Images] from the Tate gallery collection. [[Category:1855 births|Wallis, Alfred]] [[Category:1942 deaths|Wallis, Alfred]] [[Category:British painters|Wallis, Alfred]]