Dorothy Henriques-Wells

Dorothy Henriques-Wells (1926 – 5 March 2018) was a Jamaican painter and art teacher. She is known for her sparse, vibrant watercolors depicting the plants and landscapes of Jamaica. She has works in the National Gallery of Jamaica and received the Silver Musgrave Medal for Art in 1987. From 1936 to 1943, she attended Wolmer's High School for Girls in Kingston, After finishing high school, she moved to Toronto where she studied at the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD University) from 1947 to 1951. In her thesis painting, her model was a Black woman wearing a traditional headwrap. She also studied at the Minneapolis School of Art.

Career After graduation, Henriques-Wells returned to Jamaica in 1951 and began her career as an art teacher at various training colleges and high schools. For over 20 years she taught students at St Andrew High School for Girls, St Hugh's High School, and Meadowbrook High School. She taught certificate students at Mico Teachers' College and The University of the West Indies in Mona.

Henriques-Wells died on 5 March 2018 at her home in Miami. She was 92.

Fellow Jamaican artist Albert Huie's 1952 work, Portrait of Dotty Henriques, is part of the National Gallery of Jamaica's collection. OCAD University professor Andrea Fatona described Henriques-Wells' works as both sparse and emotive with a "poetic, realist approach to her subjects" that is "flowing and vibrant with sun-kissed colours".

Henriques-Wells' works are included in the collection of the National Gallery of Jamaica (NGJ), During her career, she participated in many solo and group exhibitions, both internationally and throughout Jamaica. She exhibited at the Victoria Craft Market Tercentenary, at the NGJ's Biennial and Annual National exhibitions, and at the Institute of Jamaica's All Island shows in Kingston. She was also among the artists featured in Wayne Lawrence's 2010 book The Art of Jamaica. He noted that Henriques-Wells created her watercolours without any preliminary sketches.

Personal life Henriques-Wells married Carl F. Wells, a veterinary surgeon, in 1956. They had three children. Henriques-Wells was a well-known figure in Kingston, sometimes wearing "huge straw hats with fresh flowers stuck in the brim and shocking pink dashiki dresses."