The artist Thomas Wells (1916 – 2003) was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was a member of the Marine Historical Societies of Seattle, San Diego, San Francisco, and New York, and a life member of the Puget Sound Group of Northwest Painters. The theme of the Seattle World's Fair, Century 21, was inspired by the promise of a new age. Planners of the World's Fair decided to use the Fair itself to explore solutions to problems of urbanization. The site selected for the Fair was the declining Warren Neighborhood and, after the Fair, the grounds would become a thriving civic center, as well as business and residential district.