Alfred Wallis Auction Prices and Value Guide

Alfred Wallis auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 260 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Alfred Wallis auction prices: quick answer

Alfred Wallis auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.

Artist
Alfred Wallis
Source records
260
Market update
2026-02-16

Artist context

About Alfred Wallis

Alfred Wallis (1855–1942) was a self-taught British painter and former fisherman who began making art at the age of seventy, working from his home in St Ives, Cornwall. With no formal training, he used leftover household paint on scraps of cardboard to depict the harbours, ships, and coastal landscapes he had known throughout his working life at sea. His direct, untrained approach produced compositions of striking originality — flattened perspectives, layered sea and sky, and compressed spatial relationships that anticipate elements of modernist painting. Wallis came to wider attention in the late 1920s when the artists Ben Nicholson and Christopher Wood encountered his work in St Ives and championed it within progressive British art circles. His output has since been recognised as among the most distinctive contributions to British naïve art, and his paintings are held by major public collections including Tate and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Naïve artHousehold paint on cardboardOil on boardShipping and maritime scenesPort landscapesSeascapes

Common works and media

Wallis's surviving body of work consists primarily of small-scale paintings on cardboard or board, executed in household or oil paint. Common subjects include sailing vessels, steamships, fishing boats, harbours and ports (especially St Ives), coastal landscapes, and seascapes. Compositions often show multiple ships or layered views of land, sea, and sky compressed into a single picture plane. His works are typically modest in size, reflecting the scraps of material available to him, and most are unsigned. Drawings and works on paper also exist but are less common than his painted pieces.

Market and appraisal context

Alfred Wallis's works appear regularly at auction, chiefly as paintings in oil or household paint on cardboard and board. Collectors and appraisers should consider several factors when evaluating a Wallis piece. Material authenticity matters: his characteristic use of scrap cardboard and commercial paint is well documented, and works on these supports are typical of his output. Subject is another key differentiator — shipping scenes, Cornish harbour views, and maritime subjects are his most recognisable and marketable images. Provenance can add substantial value, especially when a work can be traced to early collectors such as Ben Nicholson, Jim Ede, or the Kettle's Yard circle. Condition is critical because Wallis's non-archival materials make his surviving works inherently fragile and prone to deterioration over time.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Value drivers

  1. Material: works on original cardboard scraps by Wallis are particularly characteristic and sought after
  2. Subject matter: shipping, maritime, and Cornish port scenes are his most recognizable subjects
  3. Provenance: works with documented history tracing back to Ben Nicholson, Christopher Wood, Jim Ede, or the St Ives artistic circle carry premium provenance
  4. Institutional holdings: works held by Tate, MoMA, Kettle's Yard (Cambridge), and other public collections validate attribution and importance
  5. Condition is critical: Wallis used discarded cardboard and household paints, making his surviving works vulnerable to deterioration

Appraisal caveats

  • Wallis achieved little commercial success during his lifetime; modern auction values reflect posthumous recognition driven by the St Ives art colony and 20th-century reappraisal of naïve and outsider art.
  • Attribution should be confirmed carefully, as Wallis's self-taught, informal style has been widely imitated.
  • Condition assessment is especially important given the fragile, non-archival materials Wallis habitually used.

Evidence

Sources for artist context

This source-grounded artist context passed Appraisily's promotion threshold: high confidence, strong sources.

Source-grounded artist Markdown

Data basis

This page is built from Appraisily's public auction market index. Private transactions, incomplete sale feeds, and attribution changes may not be fully represented.

LLM-readable Markdown summary for Alfred Wallis

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Alfred Wallis worth?

Comparable public auction sales are the best starting point, but final value depends on the specific artwork, condition, size, medium, provenance, and attribution confidence.

Can Appraisily value my Alfred Wallis artwork?

Yes. Appraisily can review photos, dimensions, signatures, condition, provenance, and comparable market data to prepare a current valuation.