Art in Exile: The Work of Charles Wellens – Part One

20th December 2023 / Museum blog

As well as hosting an exhibition of the work of Peter Potworowski, in 2023 Chippenham Museum also received an ‘On Display!’ grant from South West Museum Development, with thanks to support from Arts Council England. The grant enabled the museum to conserve an important painting from the collection by another artist in exile, Charles Wellens.

Charles Wellens was a Belgium artist who along with thousands of other refugees fled to the UK during the First World War. During his time in Chippenham he painted many local scenes, raising money for the war effort.

Wellens was born in 1889, the son of a brewery owner in the town of Lummen in Belgium. Despite an eye injury that effected his sight, he showed early promise as an artist, going to art school rather than joining the family business.

In August 1914, during their invasion of Belgium, German soldiers passing through Lummen set fire to the town. Wellens’ family home was destroyed, as was much of his early work. Unable to serve in the army due to his eyesight, Wellens was one of 250,000 Belgian refugees that escaped to Britain.

Wellens settled in Chippenham where he continued to paint, producing work of local people and landscapes. He even gave painting lessons to a number of local residents. Wellens held exhibitions of his work to raise funds for the Red Cross.

Chippenham High Street, oil on canvas, 1917

At the end of the war he returned to Belgium, where he became interested in preserving the buildings and landscapes that had been a prominent feature of his work. This led to his involvement with the Bokrijk Open Air Museum, where many of these buildings are now preserved including the Wellens Farm.

Wellens died in 1958. A permanent display of his work opened in his home town of Lummen in 2015, and the Charles Wellens Society was established to promote his work.

Art in Exile: The Work of Charles Wellens – Part One

Chippenham Town Council