Summary |
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| Creator: | Wells, Newton Alonzo. |
| Title: | Newton A. Wells Papers |
| Dates: | 1877-1889 |
| Size: | 1 box (.25 linear foot) |
| Abstract: | The Newton A. Wells Papers contains etchings produced by the artist during his tenure as a student and professor at Syracuse University. |
| Language: | English |
| Repository: |
University Archives, Special Collections Research Center Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Ave., Suite 600 Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center/university-archives |
Biography
Newton Alonzo Wells was born in Lisbon, New York on April 9, 1852. He began at Syracuse University in 1873 and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in painting in 1877. Three years later, in 1880, Wells completed a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting. While a student at Syracuse University, Wells was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity. In 1878 he married Flora A. Ellis, a graduate of Genesee College. Together the couple had one son and one daughter.
Wells taught at many colleges and universities throughout his career. After graduating with his Bachelor’s degree, Wells worked for two years at Union College in Schenectady, New York, teaching drawing and geometry. In 1879 Syracuse University hired Wells as a Professor of Drawing, and he worked for the University until 1889. That year, he was named as the Dean of the School of Art at Western Reserve University. A year later, Wells left academia and spent the next decade working and exhibiting his art in both the United States and Europe, including the Annual Salon in Paris in 1896-1897. In 1899 the artist accepted a position as the Professor of the History and Practice of Painting at the University of Illinois. In 1904, the job was renamed the Professor of Architectural Decoration. Wells held this position until September of 1919, when he retired as Professor Emeritus.
In 1920 Wells began to travel abroad extensively. The artist died on January 16, 1923, while on a trip to Algeria.
Scope and Content Note
The Newton A. Wells Papers contains four unbound portfolios of etchings and one holiday greeting card, all produced during the artist's time as a student and professor at Syracuse University. Three of the portfolios contain etchings produced by the artist, and one portfolio has etchings by both Wells and his students. The etchings are of a variety of subjects, including Syracuse University buildings, such as Holden Observatory, the construction of Crouse College, and the home of Delta Upsilon, as well as the Syracuse Erie Canal weigh lock building, and various landscapes, portraits, and still lives. Also included in the collection is one unbound and unmounted etching by Nellie Elvena Angell, Class of 1889.
Restrictions
Access Restrictions
Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.
Use Restrictions
Written permission must be obtained from University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries and all relevant rights holders
before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this
collection.
Selected Search Terms
Names
Types of material
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Newton A. Wells Papers,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries
Acquisition Information
The materials in this collection originate from a variety of sources. Stanley Warner (Class of 1919) donated one portfolio to the Archives in 1964, and the University purchased another portfolio in 1970 from a rare book and manuscript dealer. The original sources of the other materials are unknown.
Processing Information
The papers have been rehoused in acid-free folders and box.
Finding Aid Information
Created by: Steffi Chappell
Date: 2014
Revision history: