Dimensions: support: 434 x 482 mm frame: 433 x 487 x 40 mm
Copyright: CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: So here we have "Boats at Rest in Mount's Bay" by Alfred Wallis. It's untamed, wouldn't you say? Almost like a memory resurfaced. What strikes you most about it? Curator: The directness, I think. Wallis was a mariner, not an artist, until late in life. It feels like a child's drawing, but infused with the profound experience of the sea. Can you sense the rhythm in those simple boat shapes? Editor: I do, now that you mention it. They're almost like musical notes. How does knowing about Wallis's background change how we perceive the painting? Curator: It reminds me that art isn't always about technical skill; it’s about channeling a life lived. It's a raw, honest vision of his world, isn't it? Editor: Absolutely. I’ll never look at a naive painting the same way.
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http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/wallis-boats-at-rest-in-mounts-bay-t07924
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Alfred Wallis was a seaman, ice cream seller and rag-and-bone man before he took up painting in old age. He said he painted ‘what used to be’ and many of his works depict a remembered past.In 1928 he met professional artists Ben Nicholson and Christopher Wood, for whom Wallis’s work represented an instinctive and naïve folk art. As such, Wallis seemed to belong to the tradition of rustic characters common in literature, and represented a link to an apparently timeless English culture. Gallery label, July 2007
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