John Wells (1907 - 2000)

Oil on board
40.6 x 30.5 cm
Signed and dated verso

Provenance
Private Collection, New Mexico
Private Collection, USA (acquired from the above)

In 1945 aged 38 John Wells, formally a doctor on the Scilly Iles, closed his practice to take up painting full time. He relocated to Cornwall to join the vibrant modernist art community alongside artists such as Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson and Peter Lanyon. Like so many artists of his generation the influence of Naum Gabo was profound, combining scientific interest in the spirit of constructivism with organic forms. Wells often worked on a small scale with finely balanced composition and jewel like colours reminiscent of Paul Klee.

The striking work Figure, 1950 was painted during a short spell (1949-1951) when Wells was an assistant to Barbara Hepworth. The sculpture, Cosdon Head which he worked on with Hepworth was an inspiration to Wells in the making of this painting.

“He has also always stressed the sense of professionalism that this experience instilled in him, as well as the impact on his work of Hepworth’s clarity and prevision of line. However, it may also have affected his output in different, more subtle ways. Both he and Lanyon produced a number of works that allude to figures hidden within the landscape and it is possible that Wells saw himself hidden in this way – hidden and waiting to emerge. Certainly his work displays a renewed confidence at this time.”

Matthew Rowe, John Wells: The Fragile Cell, Tate Gallery Publishing, 1998