"Untitled (Woman with Chicken)" is an original acrylic and ink work on particle board from 1996 by Della Wells. In this painting, Wells employs a number of symbols that repeatedly appear in her work. The apples on the trees in the background refer to the Garden of Eden and point to the figure of woman as Eve--blamed for everything. The eye on the house in the left background refers to the all-seeing eye of God. The fish that decorate the bowl of bananas also points to Christian iconography: Jesus feeding the multitudes. Finally, the chicken references a traumatic incident from Wells' childhood in which she learned that some things must die in order for others to live.

Artwork: 7 7/8"x11"
Frame: 21 1/2"x17 1/2"

Artist Bio:

Born in 1951, Della Wells grew up in Milwaukee. As a child and young person, she did not want to become an artist but a storyteller; to this day she considers herself to be a “visual storyteller.” She attended MATC and UWM, where she studied African American Studies and Women’s Studies. She sold her first work of art at age 13, but she did not begin working as an artist until she was 42. She has said, “I didn’t do anything for a long time, because I didn’t think I had anything to say. You can draw, you may know how to do things technically, but I think to be a true artist you have to have something to say. You have to have a vision.” Her creative process stems from her personal experiences and her works are often inspired by her troubled childhood. Known for her collages, drawings, dolls, paintings, and pastels, Wells has created a magical land called “Mambo” populated and ruled primarily by black women. Wells is a self-taught artist and her work has been successful in “outsider art” venues, including the Outsider Art exhibition in New York. 

Wells’ art is in more than 100 private and public collections and it has been exhibited in the United States and Europe. In 2021 her work was introduced at Untitled (Art Basel) Miami. She was one of two recipients of the City of Milwaukee’s Artist of the Year Award for 2016. Wells’ art has appeared in various publications, including "Self-Taught, Outsider and Folk Art Guide to American Artists, Locations and Resources" by Betty-Carol Sellen and Cynthia J. Johnanson and "Permission to Paint Please: A 150 Year History of African American Artists in Wisconsin" by Evelyn Patricia Terry. A play about her life, "Don’t Tell Me I Can’t Fly," was written for performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. She has illustrated two children’s books. Her work has been purchased by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Her collages are sold at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.