Talk | Alfred Wallis: Child Pauper to Artistic Luminary

Join Cornwall-based author and museum consultant Matilda Webb as she shares the complex story of Cornish artist Alfred Wallis.

Commonly thought of as an elderly fisherman who took up painting in his seventies, capturing the boats and harbours he had known throughout a lifetime at sea, Alfred Wallis is often seen as a simple, self-taught artist. Yet historical records reveal a far more complex and surprising story.

Drawing on a wide range of sources, Matilda’s biography, Alfred Wallis: Child Pauper to Artistic Luminary, traces the remarkable journey of Wallis’s life, from his Cornish roots and impoverished childhood, through his brief but adventurous years at sea, to three decades spent as a marine stores dealer in St Ives. Through extensive archival research and conversations with Wallis’s descendants, Matilda reveals the family relationships, hardships and personal tragedies that marked his life before he turned to painting in 1925, aged 70.

In this talk, illustrated with Wallis’s paintings and little-seen photographs, Matilda will share insights from the research behind her biography, talking about Wallis’s life before the paintings of boats and harbours, and what that life can reveal about his work.

This concert is part of our April Late event. By purchasing this talk ticket, you gain free access to our galleries, exhibitions and drop-in activities from 5–8.30pm.