Alfred Wallis

(British, 1855-1942)

Untitled (village view) 33.1 x 62.3 cm. (13 x 24 1/2 in.)

Footnotes

Provenance
The Artist, from whom acquired by
Christopher Wood (1901-1930), from whom acquired by
Ben Nicholson (1894-1982), June 1949, by whom gifted to
C.S. Reddihough

Exhibited
London, The Tate Gallery, St Ives 1939-64, Twenty Five Years of Painting, Sculpture and Pottery, 13 February-14 April 1985, cat.no.13 (ill.b&w)
Orkney, Pier Arts Centre, Alfred Wallis, Christopher Wood, Ben Nicholson, organised by the Scottish Arts Council, 2-30 May 1987, cat.no.4 (col.ill. p.25, as untitled); this exhibition travelled to Aberdeen, Art Gallery and Museums, 6-27 June, Stirling, Smith Art Gallery and Museum, 11 July-30 August and Cambridge, Kettle's Yard, 12 September-18 October

Alfred Wallis spoke about his paintings as events or experiences, and Untitled (village view) was clearly an important place for Wallis. Comparing it with other paintings with the same road bisecting the composition, the same juxtaposition of houses and the sign post at the road junction (although usually shown the other way up), it is evident that the painting depicts Consols Mine and Rosewall Hill Mine, areas that Wallis obviously knew intimately.

The Consols Mine and Rosewall Hill mine were conglomerations of pits just outside St. Ives where large quantities of tin and copper were extracted until the price of tin dropped significantly in the late 19th century. Consols Mine closed in 1875 and did not fully reopen again until 1907, when it was worked with Rosewall Hill until both finally shut down in 1915. We don't know what Alfred Wallis's connection with the mines was, but given that in the latter part of his career he collected scrap metal, it is not difficult to imagine him regularly driving his donkey and cart along the road which is the main feature of the painting, and visiting and conducting business at various sites amongst the mines.

When Ben Nicholson and Christopher Wood chanced across Alfred Wallis in the summer of 1928, Wallis had a profound effect on them both. By then in his seventies he painted for company, and his directness, raw power and restraint together with his method of using simple pieces of card and the ships' paint he had to hand had a freeing effect on his new friends. As Nicholson later wrote, 'One finds only the influences one is looking for and I was certainly looking for that one'. Wood's palette began to resemble Wallis's and he painted in mostly black, white, grey, dark blue and brown, commenting that his works had 'more and more influence de Wallis, not a bad master'.

Untitled (village view) is a rare painting amongst Wallis's work for it can be dated to before 1930, but also because only a handful are known to have belonged to Christopher Wood who died tragically in the summer of 1930. Seen side by side with Nicholson's 1928 (Pill Creek - Cornwall) (see lot 6), which was probably painted shortly after Nicholson met Wallis, the impact of Wallis's creativity on Nicholson is strikingly evident. Nicholson described Wallis's vision as 'a remarkable thing with an intensity and depth of experience which makes it much more than merely childlike'. The fact that Nicholson, who received the painting after Wood's death, later gave such a key work to his close friend Cyril Reddihough underlines the closeness of their friendship.

We are grateful to Jovan Nicholson for compiling this catalogue entry.