Merkproduct The Innocent Eye: Primitive & Naive Artists in Cornwall – Marion Whybrow

With his fiercely unsophisticated paintings the near illiterate mariner Alfred Wallis became the unlikely darling of the 1930s modernists grouped around Ben Nicholson, while Bryan Pearce’s serene, naively crafted depictions of St Ives have also taken their place in the pantheon of twentieth century British art. A chapter on the self-taught Mary Jewels throws new light on the life of a much neglected artist, first encouraged by Cedric Morris and later collected by Augustus John. The survey concludes with bri…