Wells specialised in landscapes in oil and watercolour. These works often featured a low, distant horizon and a large expanse of sky above a single female figure in a tranquil rural setting. In his oils Wells adopted an unusual technique, applying the paint thickly in small brushstrokes, building up a rich impasto that enhances the tones and lends a physical presence to the painting. 

William Page Atkinson Wells RBA, 1872-1923

After attending the Slade School of Art in London, Wells continued his training in Paris. Following a short period in his native Glasgow, where his work did not meet geat success, he took a job as a theatre scene painter in Preston. After seven years in Lancashire he spent a further ten in the Isle of Man before finally settling in Appledore, Devon.