"Jake Wells: Watercolors and Sketches" opens July 7 at Rosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp II Museum.

An opening reception will be held from 4-8 p.m. on July 7, 2023.
The exhibit will be on display July 7- August 13. It is free and open to the public.

Jake Wells: Watercolors and Sketches Exhibition includes sixty artworks of mills and landscapes that were created between the 70s and the early 90s. Also included are several pieces recently donated to the museum. Wells was not only a painter but also a muralist.

His mural work remains in various areas locally. One of these is the 40? x 80? Bicentennial Mural on the east side of the building at 405 Broadway that depicts the founding of Cape Girardeau. It was completed in July 1992 for the city’s 200th anniversary.

Wells completed a watercolor series of 27 mills, which were published in a book titled Water Mills of the Missouri Ozarks in 1993 as a collaboration with George Suggs, Jr.

Wells' local teaching career spanned 34 years, between Jackson Schools and Southeast Missouri State University where he spent four years as the Chair for the Art Department. He influenced many generations with his appealing artistic abilities and was easily likable. He truly loved the landscapes and rivers in this region.

Two color prints will be available for purchase. Old Appleton Mill, 1977 and Edge of High Water, 1980.

Museum summer hours are weekdays 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. and weekends 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. Questions: museum@semo.edu or (573) 651-2260.