Alfred Wallis

Mercury Gallery, London
Christie's, London, 12 June 1987, lot 379

Unexamined out of frame. The card is unevenly cut, in keeping with the artist's technique, with areas of slight deckling and creasing to the extreme edges, visible upon close inspection. There is a faint crease along the top left corner, which has resulted in some minor cracking of the paint surface, only visible upon very close inspection. There is slight staining to the area of un-painted card along the top edge. There is a very minor area of possible lifting and in-filling to the centre of the trees, but this excepting the work appears in very good overall condition. Housed behind glass in a thick black-painted wooden frame, float-mounted against a linen backing.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The remarkable story of Alfred Wallis continues to live long in the imagination of twentieth century British art and enchant those who encounter his work. Wallis was seventy-three years old when Ben Nicholson and Christopher Wood, champions of modern British painting, stumbled upon him in 1928, living alone in a small cottage (still present today) in St Ives. Both artists were captivated by this elderly figure, an illiterate, retired mariner, producing paintings on scraps of 'paper and cardboard nailed up all over the wall' (Nicholson, 1943). Wallis' images evoked his experiences of Cornwall and life at sea in a manner which was naive, expressive and immediate. These were qualities that appealed directly to the modernist sensibilities of Nicholson and Wood, in search of an art that was instinctive and untutored. In the years that followed, Wallis' work gained great credence amongst Nicholson's circle, notably with H. S. Ede, then curator of the Tate gallery, who acquired a significant collection, many of which are on public view at Kettle's Yard, Cambridge. 

In the child-like expression of the present work, the rough, uneven edges and signature scrawled across the upper right corner, one senses powerfully that freshness and vitality which seduced Nicholson and Wood on their 'discovery' of Wallis in the late 1920s.

We are grateful to Jovan Nicholson for his kind assistance with the cataloguing of the present work.