James Lesesne Wells was a printmaker, painter, and influential arts educator from Atlanta, Georgia. After moving to New York City to pursue an art degree, Wells became a pivotal figure in the artistic and literary movement known as the Harlem Renaissance.

Wells’s bold, expressive prints and colorful paintings reflect influences that included German expressionist painting and African sculpture. Looking Upward, a black-and-white print from 1928, demonstrates Wells’s strong graphic sensibilities as well as his varied inspirations.

In 1929, Wells was hired as an art professor at Howard University in Washington, DC, where he worked until 1968. There, Wells advocated for printmaking as a form of fine art. In the 1960s, Wells became active in the civil rights movement, protesting segregation at lunch counter sit-ins. The artist died in 1993, leaving behind a lasting legacy.