James Lesesne Wells was a painter, printmaker, and professor at Howard University for 39 years. Born in Atlanta, Wells attended the Florida Normal and Industrial Institute, a Baptist high school in Jacksonville, Florida. During his teen years, Wells won awards in woodworking and drawing at the Florida State Fair.
After graduation he moved to New York City, where he studied at the National Academy of Design. He attended Lincoln University for a year before transferring to Columbia University Teachers College where he majored in art education. In New York in the 1920s, Wells was part of the rich cultural ferment of the Harlem Renaissance. He saw African art at the Brooklyn Museum and began to incorporate African motifs and styles into his prints. When he graduated, he found work in illustration, producing modern, African-influenced block prints and drawings for publication in books and literary magazines. Wells' striking modern prints attracted notice and in 1929 he received a job teaching at Howard University in Washington, DC. Wells was also exhibiting widely and he won an award at the annual Harmon Foundation exhibition in 1931.
Although he was also a painter, during the Great Depression Wells decided to focus on printmaking, in hopes of reaching a broader audience by producing more affordable art. In 1933 he married Ophelia Davidson and joined a prominent family of activists. Wells became active in fighting segregation.
Wells retired in 1968 and traveled to West Africa the following year. Wells won many awards and his work is in the collections of most major American art museums.
