Samuel Garnet Wells

Samuel Garnet Wells (a.k.a. Samuel Garnet Smith-Wells) (2 February 1885 – 12 March 1972) was an Australian cartoonist, caricaturist, artist, and draughtsman. Over a career of almost half a century, he worked at the '' Williamstown Chronicle'', the ''Melbourne Punch'', the Melbourne ''Herald'', ''The (Manchester) Daily Dispatch'', and the Melbourne ''Age'' as a political/editorial and sporting artist.Dietrich (2011).

He was also responsible in his ''Herald'' cartoon o
6 July 1923
for suggesting that the Geelong Football Club adopt a black cat as its mascot, and adopt the nickname of "The Cats".

Family

The son of the civil engineer Samuel Smith Wells (1851–1904) (a.k.a. Samuel Smith-Wells), and Emmeline Wells (1858–1885), née Little, Samuel Garnet Smith Wells was born in North Sydney, New South Wales, on 2 February 1885.

Three marriages

He married Grace Maud Pike, in Manly, New South Wales on 9 April 1907; they were divorced in May 1912 (the ''decree nisi'' was granted on 30 November 1911).

He married Marjorie Elizabeth Egan (1881–1970), at Fitzroy, Victoria on 5 April 1912; on 17 September 1931, Wells was granted his petition for a decree of nullity of this marriage, on the grounds that, although he had (incorrectly) believed that his earlier marriage had been terminated in November 1911, he had not, in fact, been free to marry until 19 June 1912 (when the ''decree nisi'' had been pronounced absolute).

He married Melbourne Artist Vera Murray (1900–1985), at Caulfield, Victoria, on 9 February 1932. They remained together until his death in 1972.

Education

He was educated at Kiama Grammar School.

Artist

Cartoonist

Over a career of almost 50 years, Wells worked for a number of publications in Australia and in the U.K.

The ''Williamstown Chronicle''

In 1919, Krefft (at the time a resident of Williamstown, Victoria) was commissioned by the '' Williamstown Chronicle'' to produce a series of caricatures of eminent local citizens.

Forty of these caricatures were published, one each week: the first, that of Frederick Ernest Pincott (18721941), the manager of ''Nugget Polish Co.'', on 24 May 1919, and the fortieth and final caricature in the series, that of James Lord (1849–1925), manager of the ''Williamstown Gas Company'', on 20 March 1920.

The ''Melbourne Punch''

Having contributed caricatures to the ''Melbourne Punch'' during the war, Wells joined its staff after World War I.

The Melbourne ''Herald''

He worked at the Melbourne ''Herald'' as both a political/editorial cartoonist and as a sporting cartoonist from 1922.

20 June 1923

Driven by the popularity of the humorous fictional "letters from the bush", that regularly featured in the Melbourne ''Herald'', written by C. J. Dennis, supposedly written by Ben Bowyang, a philosophical farmer from "Gunn's Gully", Wells, the ''Herald's'' resident caricaturist, pretended to have visited Gunn's Gully "Correspondents have frequently asked what Ben Bowyang and Bill Smith are like. This is Wells's impression of them after a visit to Gunns Gully" and, on 20 June 1923, the ''Herald'' presented 'caricatures' of the fictional pair, as if they were, indeed, real people.

Ten years later, based upon Dennis's columns and Wells's (1923) caricatures, Alex Gurney (at the time also a ''Herald'' employee) went on to create the characters for his successful comic strip, the first of which was published on 7 October 1933 (i.e., one week after Bowyang's last letter had been published).

1925 Federal election

In relation to Wells's (apparently independent) political/editorial cartoons over his entire career, it is significant that a series of his cartoons, highly critical of the Australian Labor Party in general, and of its leader, Matthew Charlton in particular, were published in relation to the (14 November) 1925 Australian federal election, with the unusual statement "Cartoon drawn, after consultation, to express the views of The Herald, by S. G. Wells, 62 Flinders street, Melbourne", at the foot of each cartoon.

March 1926 Exhibition

On 17 March 1926, an exhibition of nearly 400 examples of Wells's portraits, caricatures, and his sporting and political/editorial cartoons was opened at the ''New Gallery'', 107 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, by the former Prime Minister of Australia, Billy Hughes, one of Wells's favourite cartoon subjects.

The Manchester ''Daily Dispatch''

The Melbourne ''Herald''

He returned to the ''Herald'' in January 1941. His first cartoon was published o
14 January 1941
and he continued to work at the ''Herald'' until he was forcibly retired, due to the paper's retirement-at-sixty-five policy.

The Melbourne ''Age''

He moved to Melbourne ''Age'', and contributing a special cartoon, every Monday and Friday, in the newspaper's sports section, unti
the end of January 1967

Death

He died at his residence in Powlett Street, East Melbourne, on 12 March 1972."Deaths: Wells"
''The Age'', (18 March 1972), p. 96.

Notes

References

Sources

* Dietrich, Roger (2011)
"Samuel Garnet Wells"
''Design & Art Australia Online''.

Wells, S. G. (1923), ''Wells Football Cartoons'', Melbourne: ''The Herald''.

Wells, S. G. (1950), ''Sam Wells''
''The Age'', (3 November 1950), p. 1.

"19. Maritime Art Mystery"
''Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network'', February 2023.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Samuel Garnet

Australian editorial cartoonists
Australian political artists
Australian sports cartoonists
Australian humorists
Australian caricaturists
1885 births
1972 deaths
Artists from New South Wales
The Herald (Melbourne) people
The Age (Melbourne) people