Margaret Caroline Bruce Wells (née Bruce; 13 June 1909 – 4 December 1998) was a British artist known for her use of woodcut and linocut techniques.[1]
Margaret Bruce Wells | |
|---|---|
| Born | Margaret Caroline Bruce 13 June 1909 Murthly, Perthshire, Scotland |
| Died | 4 December 1998 (aged 89) |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | |
| Known for | Printmaking, painting |
| Spouse |
George Wells (m. 1951) |
Biography
editAlthough born in Murthly in Perthshire, Wells attended Queen Margaret School in Scarborough before returning to Scotland in 1928 to study at the Glasgow School of Art.[2] In 1933 she moved to London to study at the Leon Underwood's Brook Green School.[2][3] In 1935 Wells became his studio assistant and for a time lived in the Underwood's home.[2] Wells developed a passion for fishing and in 1935 produced two sets of prints on the subject, Fishing for Bleaks and Ells by Night which were well received.[4] During World War II, Wells served as an ambulance driver and in 1951 she married George Wells, a dermatologist. The couple lived in Chicago for several years during which time Wells studied at the city's Art Institute.[2]
During her career Wells exhibited at the Royal Academy and with the Society of Wood Engravers and became an honorary member of the latter in 1995.[2] She lived in Suffolk for the last two decades of her life and continued working until her death at Sibton.[1] Prints by Wells are held in the collections of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh and in the British Government Art Collection.[2][4][5]
References
edit- ^ a b "Wells, Margaret Bruce". Suffolk Artists. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f David Buckman (2006). Artists in Britain Since 1945 Vol 2, M to Z. Art Dictionaries Ltd. ISBN 0-953260-95-X.
- ^ Alan Horne (1994). The Dictionary of 20th Century British Book Illustrators. Antique Collectors' Club. ISBN 1-85149-1082.
- ^ a b Robin Garton (1992). British Printmakers 1855-1955 A Century of Printmaking from the Etching Revival to St Ives. Garton & Co / Scolar Press. ISBN 0-85967-968-3.
- ^ "The Collection: The Thrush's Song". Government Art Collection. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
Further reading
edit- Margaret Bruce Wells. The complete wood-engravings and lino-cuts by Jeremy Greenwood and Maggi McLune, Wood Lea Press, 2000.