Lambis elongata Possibly 1962

Charles Arthur Wells, Jr. made this intaglio print of a Lambis elongata, or spider conch shell, sometime in his lifetime. The shell sits within its frame like an odalisque on a chaise lounge; it’s smooth and ridged, beckoning with its lips and horns. I can see it growing, the way those lines suggest the slow adding of material over time. Wells must have been feeling the shell in his fingers, considering its density and form, finding his way through the labyrinth of its design. The shell is a survivor. It has made its way through rough seas, avoided predators, and endured changing climates. It is in conversation with all the other shell images out there, the close-ups of Georgia O’Keefe and the Dutch still-life paintings teeming with crustaceans. I find such hope in artists who look, absorb, and transform.