John Wells

A leading figure in the St Ives School, Wells was born in London in 1907. His was a circuitous path to the artworld, having initially trained as a doctor at University College Hospital, throughout the course of which he attended evening classes at St Martin's School of Art. From 1936 to 1945, he worked as a GP in the Isles of Scilly, often navigating the coastlines by boat on his rounds.

After the Second World War, Wells decided to pursue a full-time career as an artist, settling in Newlyn where he, alongside his friend Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, came under the mentorship of Ben Nicholson.