James Bama was born in 1926 and grew up in the Northeast. He followed his early interest in art through New York's specialized High School of Music and Art and the Art Student Leaque. James enjoyed a great career as an illustrator before deciding to move to Wyoming and focus on Western Art. The distinctive work of James Bama combines tradition with modern realities. In much-acclaimed studies, Bama shows the contemporay West preserving its traditonal culture. His portraits of inhabitants of the plains and mountians capture the true character of the West.