However, he moved to Florida at an early age. Wells studied at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania before transferring to Columbia University in New York. Early exhibitions of his work include "International Modernists," which took place in April 1929 at the New Art Circle Gallery. That same year, Wells joined the faculty at Howard University.

Considered a pioneer in the field of printmaking, Wells put forth a vigorous argument to have the department consider printmaking as a major art form in the College of Art. Using the justification that awareness of “the social and economic conditions of the time and the awakening of the 'New Negro,' I felt that the graphic arts would lend itself readily to the projection of ideas about these issues." This was especially important to him because he saw this as a way of making art more accessible. Most significantly, Wells “spent a sabbatical year working in Stanley Hayter’s Atelier 17, the most innovative center for etching and printmaking in the country.”

Wells’, work showed the influence of his religious upbringing and artist such as Albrecht Durer, Ernst Kirchner, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, and Otto Muller. Also an activist, Wells and his brother-in-law, Eugene Davidson, president of [a] local NAACP chapter, railed against segregationalist practices that undergirded the disparaging treatment of Blacks. The artist also cited as inspiration, African sculptural images that he saw at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Some of the earliest recognition Wells’ work came when he won a gold medal at a 1931 Harmon Foundation exhibition.

Considered a mentor to many of famed artists of the Harlem Renaissance, Wells served as the director of a summer art workshop in Harlem nightclub where his assistants included Charles Alston, Jacob Lawrence, and Palmer Hayden. He also garnered the respect of Alain Locke, one the chief architects of the Harlem Renaissance. Locke, one of Wells’ most ardent supporters wrote that "his inclusion in one of the most authoratively chosen collections of modernist art in the country ranks Wells as an ultra-modernist and a successful one."

Famed artist Romare Bearden, who lauded Wells’ achievements, wrote that “Wells made a direct decision to specialize in printmaking at a time prints were virtually ignored, because he felt that they were something that African-Americans could own. He is a master of the fine white-line woodcut, heightening the effects of the delicate, difficult technique with his strong sense of design and ability to express emotion. His expressionistic of brilliant color has increased the impact of his woodcuts and lithographs, producing effects related to stained glass yet very different because of this intense style.” Wells retired in 1968. However, nearly thirty-years later, he continued to paint and make prints. Wells died in January 1993 at the age of ninety.