This collection is arranged as eight series. Series 1: Biographical Material, 1940-1945 (4 folders; Box 1) Series 2: Correspondence, 1913-1968 (14 folders; Box 1) Series 3: Writings, 1918-1954 (24 folders; Boxes 2-3) Series 4: Printed Material, circa 1910s-1950s (8 folders; Boxes 3-4) Series 5: Professional Affiliations, circa 1930s-1950s (1 folder; Box 4) Series 6: Artworks, circa 1930s-1950s (10 folders; Box 4) Series 7: Photographs, circa 1920s-1950s (9 folders; Box 4) Series 8: Scrapbook, circa 1920s=1950s (4 folders; Box 5)
Access Note / Rights:
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center.
Summary:
The papers of painter Cady Wells measure 4.3 linear feet and date from 1913 to 1968. The collection provides a range of documentation of Wells' life and career, namely as a landscape artist in New Mexico and as a servicemember of the United States Army during World War II. Among these materials are twenty-two personal journals; correspondence with friends, family, and art organizations; preliminary sketches and watercolors; fourteen sketchbooks; photographs; printed material; biographical material; and documents related to his professional affiliations.
Citation:
Cady Wells papers, 1913-1968. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Additional Forms:
The collection is available on 35mm microfilm reels 1304-1309 and 1329 at the Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan. Researchers should note that the arrangement of material described in the container inventory may not reflect the arrangement of the collection on microfilm.
Use Note:
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Biography Note:
Cady Wells (1904-1954) was a painter and a patron of the arts, most associated with the Santa Fe, New Mexico, landscape artists of the 1930s and 1940s. Born in Southbridge, Massachusetts, Wells was raised in an affluent family, and pursued music as a concert pianist before discovering his passion for painting. Upon moving to New Mexico in 1932, Wells quickly gained rapport with regional modernist painters Andrew Dasburg and Georgia O'Keeffe. His artistic career was interrupted in the first half of the 1940s while he served in the United States Army during World War II. Returning to New Mexico in the mid-1940s, his innovative command of pattern and color earned him a reputation as a significant landscape painter of the American Southwest. Along with his original contributions, Wells was an avid supporter of his local arts community, assisting in the development of the Spanish Colonial Arts Society and the Museum of New Mexico.
Language Note:
English .
Provenance:
The papers were donated in 1975 by Mason B. Wells, brother of Cady Wells.
Location Note:
Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 750 9th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001
