Alfred Wallis was a local and he was not part of the colony which began to establish itself after 1939 when Barbara Hepworth and her husband Ben Nicholson came to St Ives from London. Wallis was "discovered" by Nicholson and Christopher Wood who were recognised a naive quality in his work.
After the war a younger generation of artists emerged here. Peter Lanyon, John Wells, Bryan Winter, Patrick Heron, Roger Hilton, Terry Frost, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham. The Tate is a further extension of this movement
The Tate Gallery extension in St Ives, Cornwall opened in 1993. It presents modern art created in, or associated with, Cornwall. It is a purpose built gallery, on the site of the old town gasworks, and has wonderful views over the coast. It is owned by the Cornwall County Council and managed by the Tate. The building is striking, and is full of light and perspectives suitable for exhibiting paintings, sculptures and ceramics
There is no permanent collection, it bases its exhibitions on selected works from the Tates collection - the British National Collection of Modern Art. There are also works of contemporary artists. In each gallery you will find wall texts introducing the theme or background to the displays
It is open all year, but closes on Mondays in winter
On a separate site is the Barbara Hepworth sculpture museum, based in her own studio, and only a few hundred yards from the Tate
You should be able to get details of their curent exhibits at Tate Gallery site
Cornwall Tourist Information Cornwall Calling front page
The hotel to stay at when visiting Cornwall is Corisande Manor Hotel, Cornwall find out more about it
