Descended of Thomas Macy and Richard Swain, who were among Nantucket's earliest English settlers, Wendell Macy was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts; the son of Josiah and Eliza Swain Macy. He married Rachel Parker, daughter of Elisha and Elizabeth Gardiner Parker of Nantucket. The couple lived in New Bedford during the late 60's and early 70's, where Macy worked for a firm that specialized in nautical instruments. Eventually he opened an art studio with L. B. Ellis Fine Art. It is likely his earliest works were portraits.

To date there has been no evidence of exactly where Wendell Macy may have studied his craft. He worked in "crayon," (pastels) his preference for portraiture, and composed marine and coastal 'scapes in oil on board...