NO. 35 - OCEAN LINER

With his love of steamships, Alfred Wallis would have been thrilled by the sight of a four-funnelled ocean liner in the early 20th century. Only 14 were built in total - by Britain, Germany and France. After the First World War, four funnels were seen as wasteful and old-fashioned, and they were no longer made.

Thank you for joining me on my quest to see how many kinds of vessels Wallis painted. I think it's remarkable that he sat in his cottage and recreated from memory 35 distinct types of ships and boats he had observed in his lifetime. He repeatedly painted some of these many times, particularly two-masted topsail schooners, luggers and steamships. Others he painted only once, such as this ocean liner.

There may, of course, be paintings of further types of vessels that I haven’t found in private collections. If anyone knows of a type I’ve missed, please let me know!

FOR NUMBERS 8 TO 34 PLEASE GO TO MY INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT @ALFREDWALLISBOOK