Lot 239: Cady Wells 1904-1954 , Orange Rocks, Jacona gouache and black ink on board

signed Cady Wells , l.r. gouache and black ink on board

measurements 14 3/8 by 21 1/2 in. alternate measurements 36.5 by 54.5 cm.

San Francisco, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Cady Wells, 1953

Born in Massachusetts to a wealthy family, Wells decided to live in the American Southwest and work as an artist when he was a young man. He studied art in Santa Fe with Andrew Dasburg in the early 1930s. Other strong artistic influences were Georgia O'Keefe and Raymond Jonson, as well as Japanese brush painting, which he studied briefly while on a tour of Asia.
Together with his brother Mason, Wells purchased an old adobe home in Jacona, New Mexico, which they lovingly and carefully restored over time. He collected the art of the area and, in fact, donated his collection of Spanish Colonial art to the Museum of New Mexico. He was known as an active and generous benefactor in his New Mexico community, known for his donations to needy families and his sponsorship of supplies and scholarships for struggling artists.