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Born in Cape Town, South Africa on Dec. 15, 1895, the son of a wealthy Dutch diamond merchant. The Wessels family came to California about 1902, having lost everything in the Boer War. Glenn earned his B.F.A. degree at the CCAC and M.A. degree at UC. He began his art career as an illustrator for the San Francisco Call. He furthered his art training at AcadŽmie Colarossi in Paris, Karl Hofer in Berlin and Hans Hofmann in Munich. While there, he became Hofmann's assistant and in 1930 returned to the U.S. as his interpreter and guide.


His long teaching career began in 1924 at the CCAC and UC. During the 1930s he painted several murals for the Federal Art Project and acted as their supervisor in the Oakland area. During this time he was also an art critic for the Argonaut. Wessels retired from academic teaching in 1963 and was invited by Governor Brown to become a California State Commissioner of Fine Arts. His final years were spent in Placerville, CA where he died on July 23, 1982.