Alfred Wallis

Alfred Wallis (1855–1942) was a self-taught British painter who began painting at the age of around 70, following the death of his wife, using ship's paint on cardboard, wood, and other found materials. His naïve depictions of the sea, ships, and the fishing villages of St Ives, Cornwall, are characterised by their raw, unschooled directness and flattened perspective. Discovered by artists Ben Nicholson and Christopher Wood in 1928, Wallis became a celebrated figure of naïve and folk art, influencing the St Ives school and later generations of British artists.