CORNISH PRIMITIVE

About the book

Alfred Wallis, a semi-literate Cornish rag-and-bone man, began to paint at the age of seventy after his wife's death, "for company" as he put it. Seventeen years later, in 1942, he died in a workhouse near Penzance. By then his achievements had been recognised by a mere handful of London painters and writers involved in the St lves artistic scene, and but for their patronage next to none of his pictures would have survived. Wallis's work is exceptional. Completely self-taught his canvasses portray the simple life of the then small fishing-village of St Ives; the sea, the sky, boats, lighthouses - these were the fundamentals of his uncomplicated life. His style reflects this simplicity, a style which was regarded as child-like in its day, but has since been reassessed by art critics and the value of its naive charms reappraised. This book is a tribute to Wallis's work. It includes 37 full colour plates reproducing his most vital images, with informative captions.

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Edwin Mullins Biography

Edwin Mullins (born 1933) is a British art critic, novelist, and television presenter. Among his books is a monograph on Georges Braque. His television series include A Love Affair with Nature (Channel 4, 1985) and 100 Great Paintings.

Works

Braque, London, Thames & Hudson, 216 pp., 1968 The Pilgrimage to Santiago, London, Secker & Warburg, 224 pp., 1974, ISBN 0-436-29510-5 The Arts of Britain, Oxford, Phaidon, 288 pp., 1983, ISBN 0-7148-2285-X A Love Affair With Nature, Oxford, Phaidon, 160 pp., 1985, ISBN 0-7148-2404-6 The Painted Witch: Female Body: Male Art: how Western artists have viewed the sexuality of women, London, Secker & Warburg, 230 pp., 1985, ISBN 0-436-29513-X

Personal life

Edwin lives in London with his wife, Anne. He has three children: Fran, Jason, and Selina, and five grandchildren ; Ellie, Felix ,Tegan, Zoë and Freddie.

References

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