Wells M. Sawyer, Mangrove Islands Near Marco, 1896, watercolor, 9 by 12 inches.
Born in 1863, Wells Moses Sawyer, was the descendant of American pioneers, one of whom fought in the American Revolution, and the son of an Iowa farmer, merchant. At a young age Wells Sawyer wanted to be an artist but his conservative father thought otherwise. He spent three years studying law and passed the bar, but never practiced. Finally in 1882 Sawyer began studying art at night with John O. Anderson who had worked with the celebrated artist John Duveneck in Cincinatti. His father was not happy. Becoming an artist would not be easy. Sawyer attended art school at night for fifteen years while working days as an illustrator for newspapers, including the Chicago Daily News, and the Chicago Tribune. In 1891 he moved to Washington, D.C., working as an illustrator for the Geological Survey office and enrolled in courses at the Corcoran Gallery.
Wells M. Sawyer, Early House on Marco,1896, watercolor, 15 by 21 inches.
During these early years, Sawyer exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago and, in 1894, had a one man show at the Fischer Galleries in Washington. In 1896-1897 Sawyer traveled to Florida and Marco Island as an artist and photographer for an archaeological expedition sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Pennsylvania. He studied in Paris from 1899 to 1900. On his return to Washington, Sawyer was head of the illustration department at the Bureau of Ethnology, and later worked at the Treasury Department as inspector of furniture for federal buildings and designing furniture for government use.
It was in Washington in 1898, that his beloved daughter Helen Sawyer was born. In 1907 Sawyer moved to New York City, working in advertising and sales for the Trustee Security Company and in public relations at the National City Bank of New York. In New York he continued to paint and exhibit his works in area galleries. In 1926, at the age of 63, and in poor health, he moved to Spain, living there for ten years. With the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, and then World War II, Sawyer, unable to return to Spain, moved to Mexico, staying there until 1944, when he moved to Sarasota and the home of his daughter Helen Sawyer and her husband Jerry Farnsworth, both now artists and members of the National Academy of Design. He spent many winters in Sarasota. In 1954, at the age of 91, the Sarasota Herald called Sawyer, the “Dean of Sarasota Painters.” He died there in 1961.
Dearest Daught and Popsy Wells, Two Artists Named Sawyer by Marion Spjut Gilliland, is an excellent, heartfelt history of Wells, his work and his family.
Wells M. Sawyer, Scene at Marco Island, 1896, watercolor, 9 by 12 inches.
Born: 1863, Iowa. Died: 1961, Sarasota, Florida. Education: Art Institute of Chicago; with John Vanderpoel; The Duveneck Group with John O. Anderson; Corcoran School of Art, Washington, D.C.; Art Students League, New York City, later president; with Howard Helmick. Membership: National Academy of Design; Sarasota Art Association; Art League of Manatee County; Florida Federation of Art; Salmagundi Club (1908) life member; American Watercolor Society; Allied Artists of America; Honorary President, Yonkers Art Association (honorary president); Society of Washington Artists, from 1892; Florida Gulf Coast Artists Group, new member 1944. Exhibits: Art Institute of Chicago, first public showing, 1889, Spring Blossoms; Fischer Galleries, Washington, D.C., 1894, one man show; National Gallery of Modern Art, Madrid, fifty-nine oils and watercolors, auspices of Spanish Government, 1928; Milch Galleries, New York City, Spanish paintings, 1929; U. S. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., sixty-eight oils and watercolors, 1931; Yonkers Museum of Science and Art, Yonkers, New York, 1933; Salon, Malaga, Spain, official showing of watercolors, auspices Fine Art Section, Friends of the Country, 1934; Southern Art Projects, tour for several years under direction of critic Leila Mechli; Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina; Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences, Savannah, Georgia; University of Georgia, Athens, 1935-1936; Feragil Galleries, New York City, forty-nine watercolors, 1936; University of Michigan, sixty-one oils and watercolors, 1936; American Federation of Arts, Spanish paintings on tour, three years, through United States from Florida to New England to west coast including Princeton University, Seattle Art Museum and the Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, California, 1938 to 1941; Sarasota Art Association, February 1943, In The Garden, Last Gleam; Florida Federation of Art Annual Circuit, Outstanding Art Work by Artists, Jacksonville, 1944, sponsored by Arts Exhibition Club and Art Department of Woman’s Club, Landscape; Sarasota Art Association, South Palm Avenue, March 1944, Brother Pompey; Sarasota Art Association, South Palm Avenue, January 1945, watercolor landscapes, Lido, In Florida, Florida Sky; Sarasota Art Association, Contemporary American Paintings, Mira Mar Gallery, South Palm Avenue, February 1945, Mexican Woman in Patio; Sarasota Art Association, Members Annual Exhibit, March 1945, Bayou by the Bay; Florida Gulf Coast Group, 4th Annual Exhibition, nationwide circuit, July 1945-May 1946, Bayou by the Bay; Sarasota Art Association, 221 South Palm Avenue, Members Exhibit, January 1946, watercolors, Entrance to Harbor at Vera Cruz, At the Lido; Florida Gulf Coast Group, Clearwater Art Museum, 5th Annual, nationwide circuit, July 1946-May 1947, oil, Late Afternoon-Sarasota Harbor; Florida Gulf Coast Group, Clearwater Art Museum, 6th Annual, nationwide circuit, July 1947-May 1948, April Sunshine in Florida; Sarasota Art Association, Members Exhibit, January 1948; Sarasota Art Association, at Ringling Museum, 1st exhibit, 1949, At the Lido Casino; Sarasota Art Association, winter, 1949, Brother Pompey, The Pink Church, Gray Day at Pike’s Peak; John & Mable Ringling Museum, one man show, December 1949 to January 1950, Paintings of Wells M. Sawyer; Florida Gulf Coast Group, sponsorship, Clearwater Art Museum, 7th Annual nationwide circuit, July 1948 to May 1949, oil, Live Oaks in Spring; Sarasota Art Association, Cain Building, December 1948, watercolor, April Skies in Sarasota; Sarasota Art Association, Winter Exhibit, 1949, Great Smoky Mountains; Florida Gulf Coast Group, 8th Annual Exhibition, Clearwater Art Museum, on nationwide circuit, July 1949 to May 1950, oil, Waiting For a Late Train; Florida Artist Group, 3rd Annual Members Exhibit, Ft. Harrison Hotel, Clearwater, shown under auspices of the Clearwater Art Group, March 1952, black & white drawings and prints, Sketches; Florida Artist Group, 6th Annual Circuit, Palm Beach Art League, April 1955, Late Afternoon Light on a Waterfront Street-Malaga-Spain; Art League of Manatee County, All Members Exhibit, October 1955, 209 Ninth St. W. Bradenton, Nuero-Mundo; Allied Artists of America, 41st Annual, New York City; Manatee County Art Center, December 18-30, 1955, paintings; Sarasota Art Association, Members’ Annual Juried Exhibition, February 1960, Little River in Vermont. Directory: Listed in the Sarasota City Directory, 1956 to 1960, as an artist with studio at 117 Central Avenue.
