Cady Wells Paintings

Cady Wells was an American painter known for his contributions to the Southwestern style of art, particularly for his watercolor landscapes that often captured the unique spirit and atmosphere of New Mexico. Born Howard Cady Wells on November 15, 1904, in Southbridge, Massachusetts, he came from a wealthy family that co-owned the American Optical Company. Despite this privileged background, Wells charted his own course, choosing to pursue his passion for art.

In the 1920s, Wells traveled to Europe, where he studied music in Paris, but his interest in visual arts soon took precedence. Upon his return to the United States, he studied painting in Boston and New York. His early artistic efforts were influenced by his teachers, but it was his encounter with the Southwest that truly shaped his artistic voice. He moved to New Mexico in the late 1920s, where he became deeply influenced by the landscape and the vibrant cultures of the region.

Wells was part of a wave of artists who were attracted to the unique light and color of the Southwest, including Georgia O'Keeffe and others associated with the Taos and Santa Fe art colonies. His work often reflected the spiritual and emotional responses he had to the New Mexico landscape, and he became known for his distinctive style that fused aspects of Pueblo culture, the vast desert expanses, and an almost mystical use of color and form.

During the 1930s and 1940s, Wells developed a reputation as one of the leading modernist watercolorists in America. His innovative approach to the medium was characterized by a bold use of color, a nuanced understanding of light, and a tendency to abstract forms in a way that captured the essence of his subjects. Aside from landscapes, Wells also created portraits and religious-themed works that reflected his personal search for spirituality.

Cady Wells' life and career were unfortunately cut short when he died on March 22, 1954, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Despite his relatively short career, Wells left behind a body of work that continues to be celebrated for its originality and its evocative representation of the American Southwest. His paintings are held in numerous public collections, including the New Mexico Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.