Welcome to my blog where I will be posting about Alfred Wallis's remarkable paintings and my writing process for Alfred Wallis Child Pauper To Artistic Luminary

Alfred Wallis's painting of the barque John Gray aground in Mount's Bay near Penzance

~~ 1 July 2025 ~~

A big thank you to everyone for coming along this morning to the Penzance LitFest Fringe to hear my talk 'Illuminating Alfred Wallis' - based around the biography of this iconic artist - hosted by the wonderful Ethan Jerome!
Thanks also to the Redwing Gallery for providing a great venue for the event!

Alfred Wallis's painting of the barque John Gray aground in Mount's Bay near Penzance

~~ 29 June 2025 ~~

“When Alfred Wallis was a cabin boy aged 11, he witnessed a great storm in Mount's Bay. It caused a square-rigged barque called the John Gray to founder on Gear Rock between Penzance and St Michael’s Mount. Most of the crew were rescued by the lifeboat, but the captain refused to leave the ship.

When it broke up, the captain drowned and the cargo of rum, coconuts and sugar washed up on the beach at Long Rock, where it was ‘strewed for a long distance on the sand’. Wallis often painted this subject in later life, showing how much it had affected him as a boy."

Abridged excerpt from Alfred Wallis Child Pauper To Artistic Luminary to celebrate Golowan Festival 2025

Alfred Wallis's portrait of his wife Susan

~~ 23 June 2025 ~~

To celebrate International Portrait Day, here is the only portrait Alfred Wallis made. It is thought to be of his wife, Susan, and is discussed in Alfred Wallis Child Pauper To Artistic Luminary. It is published in colour for the first time thanks to the kind permission of the portrait's owner.

Alfred Wallis painting at his kitchen table in 1928

~~ 20 June 2025 ~~

Alfred Wallis

  1. Was born into extreme poverty in 1855

  2. Went to sea as a cabin boy aged 10

  3. Survived terrifying storms at sea

  4. Was a caring stepfather

  5. Ran a scrap merchants at St Ives

  6. Taught himself to paint aged 70

  7. Greatly influenced British Modern Art

  8. Was paid very little for his paintings

  9. Died in the workhouse in 1942

  10. Is now one of Britain’s best-loved artists

Matilda Webb signing Alfred Wallis Child Pauper To Artisitc Luminary at the book launch in May 2025

~~ 18 June 2025 ~~

Matilda Webb

  1. Was born into an artistic family

  2. Grew up on the coasts of Yorkshire and Pembrokeshire

  3. Always loved Alfred Wallis’s paintings

  4. Became a museum curator and historical researcher

  5. Lived in Orkney and West Cornwall

  6. Felt inspired to discover more about Alfred Wallis after seeing the collection of his paintings at Kettle’s Yard

  7. Was surprised to find little biographical information

  8. Spent 8 years visiting archives and tracking down members of Wallis’s family

  9. Published this in-depth biography in April 2025

  10. Is now exhausted!