John Clayworth Spencer Wells (27 July 1907 – 28 July 2000) was an artist and maker of relief constructions, associated with the
St Ives group.
Biography
He was born in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and spent his early years in Ditchling, Sussex. He took evening classes at
Saint Martin's School of Art
Saint Martin's School of Art was an art college in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1854, initially under the aegis of the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Saint Martin's became part of ...
from 1927 to 1928 while studying for a medical degree at
University College Hospital
University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College Lond ...
and exhibited at the Daily Express Young Artists Exhibition in 1927. His mother was Cornish and from 1936 to 1945, he worked as a
General Practitioner for the
Isles of Scilly. After the Second World War he decided to pursue a full-time career as an artist. At that time he settled in
Newlyn
Newlyn ( kw, Lulyn: Lu 'fleet', Lynn/Lydn 'pool') is a seaside town and fishing port (the largest fishing port in England) in south-west Cornwall, UK.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End''
Newlyn lies on the shore of Moun ...
,
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
and became closely involved with the renowned artistic community at the nearby town of
St. Ives. From 1967, Wells shared his Newlyn studio with fellow artist and friend
Denis Mitchell.
He was the co-founder of the Crypt Group and the
Penwith Society of Arts
The Penwith Society of Arts is an art group formed in St Ives, Cornwall, England, UK, in early 1949 by abstract artists who broke away from the more conservative St Ives School. It was originally led by Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson, a ...
. He worked with
Barbara Hepworth from 1950 to 1951 and exhibited regularly in London, the provinces and abroad. His work is represented in the
Tate Gallery
Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the U ...
. His works of geometric abstraction were influenced by
Gabo,
Ben Nicholson
Benjamin Lauder Nicholson, OM (10 April 1894 – 6 February 1982) was an English painter of abstract compositions (sometimes in low relief), landscape and still-life.
Background and training
Nicholson was born on 10 April 1894 in De ...
and
Barbara Hepworth.
Wells died on 28 July 2000 on the Penwith peninsula, at the southwest tip of Cornwall.
An exhibition held at the
Tate St Ives
Tate St Ives is an art gallery in St Ives, Cornwall, England, exhibiting work by modern British artists with links to the St Ives area. The Tate also took over management of another museum in the town, the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture ...
in 2007, celebrated the centenary of his birth.
[ Tate exhibition: John Wells Centenary Display
6 October 2007 – 13 January 2008]
See also
*
St Ives, Cornwall
*
List of St. Ives artists
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, John
1907 births
2000 deaths
Alumni of University College London
St Ives artists
People from Newlyn
Alumni of Saint Martin's School of Art