A Brig, Close to Shore - Alfred Wallis

A characteristic marine study by Alfred Wallis, featuring a brig rendered in his signature naïve style on a textured, flattened plane.

Alfred Wallis, a former Cornish fisherman and scrap merchant, began painting in his late sixties. He worked primarily on salvaged cardboard, often cutting the material into irregular shapes to suit his compositions. This work, A Brig, Close to Shore, displays the characteristic features of his output: a rejection of traditional perspective, a focus on maritime subjects, and the use of a limited, utilitarian palette.

Wallis painted from memory, drawing upon his years spent at sea. His approach to space is flattened, with the brig positioned against a dark, textured background that suggests the proximity of the coastline. The sea is rendered with thick, gestural brushwork, conveying the movement of water through simple, repetitive strokes. The ship itself is depicted with a focus on its structural elements, such as the masts and rigging, rather than anatomical accuracy.

His materials were those readily available to him, including ship paint and household oil paint. These substances contribute to the tactile quality of the surface. Wallis did not consider himself an artist in the professional sense, yet his work attracted the attention of Ben Nicholson and Christopher Wood, who visited St Ives in 1928. They recognised the authenticity in his direct, unmediated style. This piece captures the essence of his practice, where the physical constraints of the cardboard and the limitations of his materials dictate the final form. The result is a direct, honest representation of a vessel, stripped of academic artifice and grounded in the lived experience of a mariner.