Eloise Long Wells

Eloise Long Wells was a St. Louis-based artist who was known for her paintings of scenes of children and, later in her career, of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. She worked in different mediums such as oils, charcoal, and red conté. 

Wells moved with her family to St. Louis in 1879. Her grandfather was Richard J. Compton, a St. Louis gold and silver engraver who founded Compton Lithographics. He was the first person to encourage Eloise to pursue art. 

Wells attended the Mary Institute in St. Louis, and then studied art at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts at Washington University from 1901 to 1902. She studied with the artists Edward Campbell, Charles Allan Winter and Richard E. Miller. While a student at the School of Fine Arts, Wells won a silver medal for a still life painting in 1901, and later won a bronze medal. Wells also attended the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, California. 

Wells belonged to many art associations, saying that she needed them “to broaden my horizon and help in my work” (St. Louis Star and Times, November 22, 1920). Some of them included the St. Louis Artists’ Guild, the St. Louis Art League, the Art Club of Chicago, the American Federation of Arts, and the Gamut Club of New York. Wells was a member of the St. Louis Artists’ Guild for fifty years and served on many juries for the organization’s exhibitions. She also served on the managing board of the St. Louis Art Center. She gave artist demonstrations at the City Art Museum.

Wells’ studio was on the top floor of her St. Louis home, located at 4308 Washington Avenue. Her studio, nicknamed the “The Pilot House,” was also a play area for her children. Wells' observation of their activities was a central inspiration for her artistic practice, as she stated: “I intend to go on creating and studying child life. I may never paint a masterpiece, but if I paint child life in its truest forms I shall be satisfied”(St. Louis Star and Times, November 22, 1920).