Christopher Mason's documentary presents a retrospective of the arts in the immediate post-war years (1945-51), when patronage for 'public art' was intended to promote a cultural renaissance to complement that in education, health and housing. A dream of universal access to Britain's cultural heritage is shared, with use of archive newsreels, though can the dream be made reality or is art simply a luxury most can't afford?

The work of self-taught British painter Alfred Wallis is discussed by surviving friends and relatives from Wallis’ native town of St Ives, alongside images of his paintings and the real land- and seascapes that inspired them.