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Della Wells Art

American, b. 1951

Della Wells is an extraordinary mixed media artist. Her work evokes everyday scenes and cultural values. Wells specializes in pastels, using found objects in her pieces. Her work includes dolls, boxes, cards, painted vests and more.

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Artist: Della Wells
Romantic Pastel Jester Clown Figure Nature Expressionism Female Artist Signed
By Della Wells
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Everybody Kisses a Fool Sometime" is a pastel signed by Della Wells. It depicts a black woman kissing a figure wearing a white mask and a comedia del'arte costume also known as the ...
Category

1990s Neo-Expressionist Della Wells Art

Materials

Pastel, Paper

"America's Nightmares, " Original Pastel Drawing signed by Della Wells
By Della Wells
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"America's Nightmares" is an original pastel drawing on paper by Della Wells. The artist signed the piece in the lower right. The work depicts three African American figures...
Category

1990s Neo-Expressionist Della Wells Art

Materials

Pastel, Paper

Eyes Sees America
By Della Wells
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Eyes Sees America" is an original pastel drawing by Della Wells. The artist signed and dated the piece in the lower right. This work depicts a black woman in a blue dress sitting ne...
Category

1990s Neo-Expressionist Della Wells Art

Materials

Pastel, Paper

"America, How Does Your Garden Grow?" Pastel signed by Della Wells
By Della Wells
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"America, How Does Your Garden Grow?' is an original pastel by Della Wells. It pictures a blond girl holding a black doll in a verdant garden-like setting with leaves and apples and ...
Category

1990s Neo-Expressionist Della Wells Art

Materials

Pastel, Paper

"Melon Scope, " Original Pastel Drawing signed by Della Wells
By Della Wells
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Melon Scope" is an original pastel drawing on paper by Della Wells. The artist signed the piece in the lower right. This work depicts a black woman carrying a large slice of watermelon, which stands for a stereotype of African Americans. Two serpent-like large leaves flank her, each with a single eye, which signify, according to the artist the all-seeing eye of God...
Category

1990s Expressionist Della Wells Art

Materials

Paper, Pastel

"Green Rhythms, Melon Dreams" Pastel on paper signed
By Della Wells
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Green Rhythms, Melon Dreams" is an original pastel drawing on paper by Della Wells. The artist signed the piece in the lower right. This work features an alligator with what appears...
Category

1990s Surrealist Della Wells Art

Materials

Pastel, Paper

"The Drowning of Brother Tony, " Original Pastel Drawing signed
By Della Wells
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"The Drowning of Brother Tony" is an original pastel drawing on paper by Della Wells. The artist signed the piece in the lower right. In this pastel, an alligator-like creature with an African American child's head thrashes about in the water, upsetting the tiny boat pictured at left and causing the black figure on the lower right to drown. Another female black figure, straddling the alligator's tail, attempts to save Tony, but to no avail. Two open eyes appear in the picture: the alligator seems to clutch one and the other appears on the boat's sail. The alligator holds a pice of melon in his mouth and colorful fish populate the water and sky. Alligators reference Jim Crow caricatures in which black children are chased and eaten by alligators. The alligators are menacing and point to a deeply racist pictorial and real world. The eye represents the all-seeing eye of God...
Category

1990s Neo-Expressionist Della Wells Art

Materials

Pastel, Paper

"Cousin Mammy Grasp Your Mind, " Original Pastel Drawing signed by Della Wells
By Della Wells
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Cousin Mammy Grasp Your Mind" is an original pastel drawing by Della Wells. The artist signed the piece in the lower right. This piece depicts a blonde woman surrounded by snakes an...
Category

1990s Neo-Expressionist Della Wells Art

Materials

Pastel

"Spiritual Bounds, " Original Pastel Drawing Portrait signed by Della Wells
By Della Wells
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Spiritual Bounds" is an original pastel drawing on paper by Della Wells. The artist signed the piece in the lower right. This work depicts a woman with a snake wrapped around her ar...
Category

1990s Expressionist Della Wells Art

Materials

Pastel

"Umbrella Woman, " a Pastel signed by Della Wells
By Della Wells
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Umbrella Woman" is an original pastel drawing by Della Wells signed in the lower left. It depicts a dark-skinned woman holding a salmon-colored umbrella as she walks through colorfu...
Category

1990s Folk Art Della Wells Art

Materials

Pastel

"Magic, " Original Pastel and Pencil Drawing Landscape signed by Della Wells
By Della Wells
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Magic" is an original pastel and pencil drawing on paper by Della Wells. The artist signed and dated the piece in the lower right. The image is filled with elements of magic: a woma...
Category

1990s Expressionist Della Wells Art

Materials

Paper, Pastel, Pencil

Related Items
FAST FOOD BREAKFAST Signed Oil Pastel on Paper, Take Out Food Drive-Thru Window
By Reginald K. Gee
Located in Union City, NJ
FAST FOOD BREAKFAST is an original oil pastel drawing on brown paper grocery bag by the self taught African American artist Reginald K. Gee, born April 28, 1964, in Milwaukee, Wiscon...
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1990s Neo-Expressionist Della Wells Art

Materials

Oil Pastel

Cows Graze in a Meadow, Pencil, 1907
Located in Stockholm, SE
This drawing by Nils Kreuger, a Swedish artist born on October 11, 1858, in Kalmar and who passed away on May 11, 1930, in Stockholm, showcases a quintessential theme found in his wo...
Category

Early 1900s Naturalistic Della Wells Art

Materials

Paper, Pencil

On Human Relations - Deborah Sengl 21st Century Animal Figurative Drawing Unique
Located in Vienna, AT
On Human Relations (d’après Adolph Freiherr Knigge) - Deborah Sengl 21st Century Animal Figurative Drawing Unique Title: "About dealing with adventurers and drifters" (Original: Ueb...
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21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Della Wells Art

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media

Expressionist Color Drawing Cobalt Glass Vintage Frame Modernist Ben Zion WPA
By Ben-Zion Weinman
Located in Surfside, FL
Expressionist ink and pastel crayon drawing of flowers in vase. Framed in a vintage cobalt blue glass original frame Hand signed and dated Framed it measures 13.5 X 10.5 The actual paper is 7.5 X 5.5 Born in 1897, Ben-Zion Weinman celebrated his European Jewish heritage in his visual works as a sculptor, painter, and printmaker. Influenced by Spinoza, Knut Hamsun, and Wladyslaw Reymont, as well as Hebrew literature, Ben-Zion wrote poetry and essays that, like his visual work, attempt to reveal the deep “connection between man and the divine, and between man and earth.” An emigrant from the Ukraine, he came to the US in 1920. He wrote fairy tales and poems in Hebrew under the name Benzion Weinman, but when he began painting he dropped his last name and hyphenated his first, saying an artist needed only one name. Ben-Zion was a founding member of “The Ten: An Independent Group” The Ten” a 1930’s avant-garde group, Painted on anything handy. Ben-Zion often used cabinet doors (panels) in his work. Other members of group included Ilya Bolotowsky, Lee Gatch, Adolph Gottlieb, Louis Harris, Yankel Kufeld, Marcus Rothkowitz (later known as Mark Rothko), Louis Schanker, and Joseph Solman. The Art of “The Ten” was generally described as expressionist, as this style offered the best link between modernism and social art. Their exhibition at the Mercury Gallery in New York held at the same time as the Whitney Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting, included a manifesto concentrating on aesthetic questions and criticisms of the conservative definition of modern art imposed by the Whitney. Ben-Zion’s work was quickly noticed. The New York Sun said he painted “furiously” and called him “the farthest along of the lot.” And the triptych, “The Glory of War,” was described by Art News as “resounding.” By 1939, The Ten disbanded because most of the members found individual galleries to represent their work. Ben-Zion had his first one-man show at the Artist’s Gallery in Greenwich Village and J.B. Neumann, the highly esteemed European art dealer who introduced Paul Klee, (among others) to America, purchased several of Ben-Zion’s drawings. Curt Valentin, another well-known dealer, exhibited groups of his drawings and undertook the printing of four portfolios of etchings, each composed of Ben-Zion’s biblical themes. He worked as a WPA artist. Ben-Zion’s work is represented in many museums throughout the country including the Metropolitan, the Whitney, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Phillips Collection, Washington. The Jewish Museum in New York opened in 1948 with a Ben-Zion exhibition. Ben-Zion consistently threaded certain subject matter—nature, still life, the human figure, the Hebrew Bible, and the Jewish people—into his work throughout his life. "In all his work a profound human feeling remains. Sea and sky, even sheaves of wheat acquire a monolithic beauty and simplicity which delineates the transient as a reflection of the eternal. This sensitive inter- mingling of the physical and metaphysical is one of the most enduring features of Ben-Zion's works." (Excerpt from Stephen Kayser, “Biblical Paintings,” The Jewish Museum Catalogue, 1952). Mystical Imprints: Marc Chagall, Ben-Zion, and Ben Shahn presents the print work of three prominent 20th century Jewish artists born in the Russian Empire. Among these seventy pieces are etchings and lithographs from Chagall’s Bible series...
Category

1950s Expressionist Della Wells Art

Materials

Paper, Oil Crayon, Pastel, Ink

Child - Drawing by Hermann Paul - Early 20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Child is a pencil and pastel Drawing realized by Hermann Paul. Dated "1916" on the lower right corner. Passpartout included cm 50x35 Good condition except some foxing . René Georg...
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Della Wells Art

Materials

Paper, Pastel, Pencil

Pastel, Ink Drawing Rocks And Cloud Landscape Jewish American Modernist WPA
By Ben-Zion Weinman
Located in Surfside, FL
Miniature Landscape Provenance: Virginia Field, Arts administrator; New York, N.Y. Assistant director for Asia House gallery. (she was friends with John von Wicht and Andy Warhol) Born in 1897, Ben-Zion Weinman celebrated his European Jewish heritage in his visual works as a sculptor, painter, and printmaker. Influenced by Spinoza, Knut Hamsun, and Wladyslaw Reymont, as well as Hebrew literature, Ben-Zion wrote poetry and essays that, like his visual work, attempt to reveal the deep “connection between man and the divine, and between man and earth.” An emigrant from the Ukraine, he came to the US in 1920. He wrote fairy tales and poems in Hebrew under the name Benzion Weinman, but when he began painting he dropped his last name and hyphenated his first, saying an artist needed only one name. Ben-Zion was a founding member of “The Ten: An Independent Group” The Ten” a 1930’s avant-garde group, Painted on anything handy. Ben-Zion often used cabinet doors (panels) in his work. Other members of group included Ilya Bolotowsky, Lee Gatch, Adolf Gottlieb, Louis Harris, Yankel Kufeld, Marcus Rothkowitz (later known as Mark Rothko), Louis Schanker, and Joseph Solman. The Art of “The Ten” was generally described as expressionist, as this style offered the best link between modernism and social art. Their exhibition at the Mercury Gallery in New York held at the same time as the Whitney Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting, included a manifesto concentrating on aesthetic questions and criticisms of the conservative definition of modern art imposed by the Whitney. Ben-Zion’s work was quickly noticed. The New York Sun said he painted “furiously” and called him “the farthest along of the lot.” And the triptych, “The Glory of War,” was described by Art News as “resounding.” By 1939, The Ten disbanded because most of the members found individual galleries to represent their work. Ben-Zion had his first one-man show at the Artist’s Gallery in Greenwich Village and J.B. Neumann, the highly esteemed European art dealer who introduced Paul Klee, (among others) to America, purchased several of Ben-Zion’s drawings. Curt Valentin, another well-known dealer, exhibited groups of his drawings and undertook the printing of four portfolios of etchings, each composed of Ben-Zion’s biblical themes. Ben-Zion’s work is represented in many museums throughout the country including the Metropolitan, the Whitney, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Phillips Collection, Washington. The Jewish Museum in New York opened in 1948 with a Ben-Zion exhibition. “Ben-Zion has his hands on the pulse of the common man and his natural world” As he emerged as an artist Ben-Zion never lost his gift for presenting the ordinary in ways that are vital, fresh and filled with emotions that are somber and exhilarating, joyous and thoughtful, and ultimately, filled with extraordinary poetic simplicity. Ben-Zion consistently threaded certain subject matter—nature, still life, the human figure, the Hebrew Bible, and the Jewish people—into his work throughout his life. "In all his work a profound human feeling remains. Sea and sky, even sheaves of wheat acquire a monolithic beauty and simplicity which delineates the transient as a reflection of the eternal. This sensitive inter- mingling of the physical and metaphysical is one of the most enduring features of Ben-Zion's works." (Excerpt from Stephen Kayser, “Biblical Paintings,” The Jewish Museum Catalogue, 1952). Along with ben Shahn, William Gropper, Chaim Gross and Abraham Rattner he was an influential mid century Jewish American...
Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Della Wells Art

Materials

Pastel, Ink, Watercolor

Expressionist Ink, Pastel, Crayon Drawing Jewish American Modernist Ben Zion WPA
By Ben-Zion Weinman
Located in Surfside, FL
Expressionist ink and pastel crayon drawing of beans (carobs, flowers?) in pods Hand signed. Born in 1897, Ben-Zion Weinman celebrated his European Jewish heritage in his visual works as a sculptor, painter, and printmaker. Influenced by Spinoza, Knut Hamsun, and Wladyslaw Reymont, as well as Hebrew literature, Ben-Zion wrote poetry and essays that, like his visual work, attempt to reveal the deep “connection between man and the divine, and between man and earth.” An emigrant from the Ukraine, he came to the US in 1920. He wrote fairy tales and poems in Hebrew under the name Benzion Weinman, but when he began painting he dropped his last name and hyphenated his first, saying an artist needed only one name. Ben-Zion was a founding member of “The Ten: An Independent Group” The Ten” a 1930’s avant-garde group, Painted on anything handy. Ben-Zion often used cabinet doors (panels) in his work. Other members of group included Ilya Bolotowsky, Lee Gatch, Adolph Gottlieb, Louis Harris, Yankel Kufeld, Marcus Rothkowitz (later known as Mark Rothko), Louis Schanker, and Joseph Solman. The Art of “The Ten” was generally described as expressionist, as this style offered the best link between modernism and social art. Their exhibition at the Mercury Gallery in New York held at the same time as the Whitney Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting, included a manifesto concentrating on aesthetic questions and criticisms of the conservative definition of modern art imposed by the Whitney. Ben-Zion’s work was quickly noticed. The New York Sun said he painted “furiously” and called him “the farthest along of the lot.” And the triptych, “The Glory of War,” was described by Art News as “resounding.” By 1939, The Ten disbanded because most of the members found individual galleries to represent their work. Ben-Zion had his first one-man show at the Artist’s Gallery in Greenwich Village and J.B. Neumann, the highly esteemed European art dealer who introduced Paul Klee, (among others) to America, purchased several of Ben-Zion’s drawings. Curt Valentin, another well-known dealer, exhibited groups of his drawings and undertook the printing of four portfolios of etchings, each composed of Ben-Zion’s biblical themes. He worked as a WPA artist. Ben-Zion’s work is represented in many museums throughout the country including the Metropolitan, the Whitney, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Phillips Collection, Washington. The Jewish Museum in New York opened in 1948 with a Ben-Zion exhibition. Ben-Zion consistently threaded certain subject matter—nature, still life, the human figure, the Hebrew Bible, and the Jewish people—into his work throughout his life. "In all his work a profound human feeling remains. Sea and sky, even sheaves of wheat acquire a monolithic beauty and simplicity which delineates the transient as a reflection of the eternal. This sensitive inter- mingling of the physical and metaphysical is one of the most enduring features of Ben-Zion's works." (Excerpt from Stephen Kayser, “Biblical Paintings,” The Jewish Museum Catalogue, 1952). Mystical Imprints: Marc Chagall, Ben-Zion, and Ben Shahn presents the print work of three prominent 20th century Jewish artists born in the Russian Empire. Among these seventy pieces are etchings and lithographs from Chagall’s Bible series...
Category

Mid-20th Century Expressionist Della Wells Art

Materials

Paper, Oil Crayon, Pastel, Ink

Caribbean Mermaid soft tropical color Mermaid and angel fish mythical subject
By Stephen Basso
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Soft pastel on toned sanded archival paper suitable for framing under glass. Signed and dated bottom. Part of an ongoing series of mermaids by the artist
Category

2010s Expressionist Della Wells Art

Materials

Pastel, Archival Paper

“Untitled” Orange, Blue & Yellow Abstract Portrait of George Washington
Located in Houston, TX
Orange, blue, and yellow abstract figurative portrait by Texas artist Ike E. Morgan. This pastel drawing depicts an abstract figure of George Washington against a yellow halo on a re...
Category

1990s Abstract Expressionist Della Wells Art

Materials

Pastel, Archival Paper

"Head Study 1, " Pastel Drawing
Located in Denver, CO
Yuriy Ibragimov's "Head Study 1" is an original, handmade pastel drawing that depicts a woman's ivory face, with sharp cheekbones and downcast eyes, em...
Category

2010s Realist Della Wells Art

Materials

Paper, Pastel

Portrait Of Lady With Hat - Pastel and Felt on Paper - 1970s
By Olga Klein Astrachan
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait Of Lady With Hat is an original artwork realized by Olga Klein Astrachan. Pastel and felt on paper stuck on canson paper (26 x 20 cm) Hand-signed by the artist on lower ...
Category

1970s Contemporary Della Wells Art

Materials

Paper, Felt, Pastel

German Expressionist Bakers, colorful painting with food cakes
By Stephen Basso
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Pastel on toned paper Stephen Basso's highly original pastels and oil paintings are romantic, yet thought provoking fantasies. His whimsical works are alive with boundless imagina...
Category

2010s Expressionist Della Wells Art

Materials

Paper, Pastel

Previously Available Items
"Blue Gal, " Original Pastel Portrait Drawing signed by Della Wells
By Della Wells
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Blue Gal" is an original pastel drawing by Della Wells. The artist signed the piece in the lower left and dated it. This piece depicts a bust of a woman in blue in front of a bright...
Category

Early 2000s Expressionist Della Wells Art

Materials

Pastel

"In Darkness Grasp...Flowers Bloom, " Original Pastel signed by Della Wells
By Della Wells
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Im Darkness Grasp...Flowers Bloom" is an original pastel drawing by Della Wells. The artist signed and dated the piece in the lower right. This piece dep...
Category

1990s Abstract Expressionist Della Wells Art

Materials

Pastel

"Circus Dreams...Muted Screams, " original pastel drawing by Della Wells
By Della Wells
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Circus Dreams...Muted Screams" is an original pastel drawing by Della Wells. The artist signed and dated the piece in the lower right. This piece depicts a woman walking past dark, ...
Category

1990s Della Wells Art

Materials

Pastel

"Marie, " Oil Pastel Portrait Drawing signed by Della Wells
By Della Wells
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"Marie" is an original oil pastel drawing by Della Wells. The artist signed the piece in the lower right as well as below the piece on the mat. This piece depicts a woman with black ...
Category

Early 2000s Della Wells Art

Materials

Oil Pastel

In This Land I Walk Free
By Della Wells
Located in Milwaukee, WI
"In This Land I Walk Free" is a mixed media collage by Della Wells. It depicts numerous black children in a suburb environment. There are many...
Category

Early 2000s Della Wells Art

Materials

Mixed Media

Della Wells art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Della Wells art available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of art to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of blue and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Della Wells in crayon, pastel, paper and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 1990s and is mostly associated with the Expressionist style. Not every interior allows for large Della Wells art, so small editions measuring 10 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Jennifer Lowe, Robert Andrew Parker, and Pinchas Maryan. Della Wells art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $2,700 and tops out at $9,430, while the average work can sell for $7,300.
Questions About Della Wells Art
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Della Wells exhibits her artwork at The Peltz Gallery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In addition, some of her work is on display at the Hurn Museum of Contemporary Folk Art in Savannah, Georgia. On 1stDibs, find a selection of Della Wells art.
  • 1stDibs ExpertApril 5, 2022
    American artist Della Wells has been known since the 1990s for her bright and dreamlike pastel artworks. She draws on themes of feminism and the experience of African American women in America throughout history. Folklore and personal spirituality are important tools for Wells, as evidenced in the dreamlike nature of her work. On 1stDibs, you’ll find a collection of authentic Della Wells pieces from some of the world’s top art dealers.
  • 1stDibs ExpertMarch 22, 2022
    Della Wells’s art is done in the style of folk art. The American artist creates mixed media works, largely using pastels and found objects. You will often see her artwork on merchandise like greeting cards and apparel. Find a range of Della Wells art on 1stDibs.

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