B. Wells Douglas

B. Wells Douglas is a visual artist based in Bloomington, IN. His work uses his archive of vintage vernacular photographs to explore and examine social and political issues that the United States faces – historically and contemporarily. 

Since beginning his collection, Wells has acquired more than 50,000 35mm slides dating from the 1940s into the 1990s. The slides come from donations, thrift stores, estate sales, and online. Wells hopes to one day make his archive of photographs available to the public for researchers and other artists to use. 

Wells’ work has been shown across the world. Most notably at the Incheon Open Port International Photo & Film Festival in Incheon, South Korea, the International Center for Photography in New York, New York, and at the SE Center for Photography in Greenville, South Carolina.