Alfred Wallis Cornish Primitive Painter Alfred Wallis gallery cornwall paintings for sale

LOOKING AT A WALLIS...

Evenness of Technique

Age

Elements of a Composition

Signature

Look & Feel

Introduction

I have been fascinated by Wallis for many years now and have absorbed just about everything I can find in terms of biographical information (much of which I will make available here). I have taken the opportunity to view Wallis's work at various exhibitions and have been privileged to view several notable private collections. I also make a point of viewing Wallis works as/when they appear at various UK salerooms. My regular contacts include Wallis scholars, relatives, collectors and locals who retain either first or second hand memories of the primitive painter.

I am often approached by private owners who wish to sell paintings, including works by Wallis. Unfortunately, I often have to disappoint people by informing them that their "Wallis" is a later copy. It is a fact that copies have been produced by admirers of Wallis, particularly since the mid to late 1980's, when Wallis's profile rose significantly, but few copies would have been produced before this time. Indeed, on the subject of potential copies, Edwin Mullins (Alfred Wallis, Cornish Primitive Painter - published 1967) was quite adamant that none existed.

Provenance is without doubt very important when it comes to works by Wallis. However, many genuine works do surface from time-to-time from deceased estates and the like, and a painting or drawing should never be disregarded on the basis that it has no firm provenance. Apart from the paintings sold direct to his London sponsors and their circle, which accounts for over a thousand works, many visitors to St Ives during the 1920's and 1930's would have purchased paintings from Wallis during his famous "open days" (see biography), probably accounting for a similar number of works. Most of these direct buyers would have considered their purchase as nothing more than a souvenier, maybe to be displayed in their homes for a few years and eventually relegated to a cupboard or attic. It is therefore quite easy to see how such paintings, when 'discovered' by future generations have little or no provenance, and end up in house clearances, low-end auctions or are discarded. In 1967 Mullins estimated the number of works he had personally seen at over one thousand, and he knew of many, many more. Mullins said that half or more of these could be disregarded on the grounds of quality, noting that many were "scrappy bits of paper of little or no artistic value". See also Wallis - The Artist

Unfortunately a catalogue raisonné of Wallis's work does not exist, nor is there a single recognised authority on his work. There are a handful of "Wallisphiles" who do have an intimate knowledge of his work, and I include myself in this category.

Having studied hundreds of paintings I have decided to share my experience and methodology with fellow "Wallisphiles" and hope that it will provide some useful insight.

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