LES TRES RICHES HEURES D`ALFRED WALLIS

A visit to St. Ives in Cornwall last week turned out to be, on the whole, a bit of a mistake. It`s a wonderful place of course - all sun, sea, picturesque scenery and startling light - but last Tuesday it was thronged with visitors crowding the narrow streets and, what made it worse, crowded too with cars being driven around and around seeking somewhere to park.

However, the visit was enriched by the discovery of a rather small, inconspicuous terraced cottage, bearing a plaque.

I always find plaques intriguing and I can`t resist checking them out and, on this occasion, I was not to be disappointed, for it turned out to be the cottage where Alfred Wallis had lived.

(click to enlarge)

Wallis was born in Devonport on 18 August 1855. Living from childhood along the south-western coast of England, he started life as a fisherman at sea from the young age of nine. It was only on retirement from the sea, around 1925, that Wallis began to paint. His chosen subject matter reflected his profession and surroundings and was limited to views of shipping and the sea. Wallis's poverty prompted him to work on whatever materials came to hand, including driftwood and cardboard



(This one - `Sailing off St. Ives` - is in oil on card laid on board: click to enlarge)

Wallis's complete lack of formal training meant that his vision remained fresh and untainted by traditional preconceptions of 'correct' draughtsmanship and perspective. This quality of immediacy and truth aroused the interest of progressive artists, in particular Ben Nicholson (1894–1982) and Christopher Wood (1901–30), both being members of the artistic colony who chose to work in the crisp light of St Ives. Despite recognition and admiration from artistic circles, Wallis's work did not capture the public's imagination during his lifetime and he died in poverty in Madron Workhouse near Penzance on 29 August 1942.

Since then, of course, his works are considered to be priceless....oh, yes, and his cottage can be rented for holidays (at the right price, I imagine.)

(click to enlarge)

Given the traffic and the crowds, I doubt I will ever return to St. Ives in late summer...but at least I have caught up with an artist of singular character.