CHARLES WELLES (American, b. 1935)

Charles Welles, who initially planned to become a writer, began painting in an attempt to supplement his income.

Around 1961, he discovered a book design by the renowned artist Leonard Baskin that changed the course of his life. Determined to study with Baskin, he packed his paintings into his car and headed for Northampton, Massachusetts, where Baskin taught. By the mid-1960s, Welles had set aside his literary ambitions in favor of the visual arts.

Welles later received a Prix de Rome and spent a year at the American Academy in Rome. In both his sculpture and graphic work, he often chooses motifs that relate to humanity’s struggle against unnatural restraints, drawing ideas from literature and contemporary social issues.

Characterized by asymmetrical faces and lighting reminiscent of Rembrandt, his etchings are most often portraits.

In addition to the permanent collection of the Southwest Regional Museum of Art, his work is represented in the permanent collections of MIT, the Library of Congress, the National Portrait Gallery, the Whitney Museum, and the private collection of Nelson Rockefeller.

Etching, Charles Welles