Christopher Wood: A Painter Between Two Cornwalls

Born in Liverpool in 1901, Christopher Wood spend most of his artistic career in France. In Paris he lived a whirlwind existence among the high society of the 1920s, getting to know Cocteau, Picasso and Diaghilev, all of whom admired his talent. Yet he often longed for solitude, and it was in the quiet coastal towns of Cornwall and Brittany that he painted his best work. Wood first stayed in St Ives in 1926. His second visit, with Ben Nicholson in 1928, and their discovery there of Alfred Wallis, is now legendary in the story of modernism. But it was not just Wallis's style that influenced Wood's work; he remained captivated by the harbours, boats and rugged coastline of Cornwall. He later found the same inspiration in Cornouaille, a remote area of Brittany, and was also moved by the local people with their traditional ways. Looking in depth at the artist's life and work in both places, this publication highlights the extent to which his pictures of Cornouaille were imbued with resonances and memories of Cornwall. Among the 40 works illustrated and discussed are many of the most important paintings that Wood produced before his death at the age of 29.