Fishing Boat with Two Masts and Yellow Sails - Alfred Wallis

A maritime scene by Alfred Wallis, featuring a two-masted fishing boat with yellow sails rendered in his signature intuitive, modernist style.

Alfred Wallis, a retired Cornish fisherman, began painting in his late sixties after the death of his wife. He worked primarily on salvaged cardboard, often using household paints. This work depicts a two-masted vessel navigating a choppy sea. The composition relies on a flattened perspective, a hallmark of Wallis's approach to maritime subjects. He prioritised memory and personal experience over academic rules of proportion or depth.

The boat is rendered with simple, direct lines. The yellow sails provide a sharp contrast against the muted tones of the sea and sky. Wallis frequently used the natural edges of his cardboard supports to dictate the boundaries of his scenes. His lack of formal training allowed him to develop a unique visual language, one that caught the attention of Ben Nicholson and Christopher Wood during their visit to St Ives in 1928.

Wallis painted what he knew: the rhythms of the sea, the structure of local fishing boats, and the isolation of life on the water. His work is devoid of artifice. The application of paint is often thin, revealing the texture of the cardboard beneath. This specific piece captures the essential form of the vessel, reduced to its most basic components. It remains a clear example of his intuitive method, where the act of painting functioned as a way to recall his years spent at sea. The absence of a horizon line forces the viewer to focus entirely on the interaction between the boat and the water, creating a sense of immediate, unmediated observation.