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John Allin 1934– 1991 Hitchcocks: High Class Fishmonger c.1980 Oil on canvas 20 × 20 inches (51 × 51 cm) Signed PROVENANCE Portal Gallery Allin was born in Hackney, and his local streets, markets and shops became his subject matter. His paintings accompanied Arnold Wesker’s text in the book Say goodbye: you may never see them again (1974), in which the fast-disappearing character of the East End was described. Allin taught himself to paint during a spell in prison for theft. He found paid work wherever he could, often as a lorry driver, which he addressed by signing his work Allin Road. From the late 1960s he was a regular exhibitor at Portal Gallery, enjoying commercial and critical success. In 1979, he won the international Prix Suisse de Peinture Naïve, the first British recipient of the prize. |