James Bama
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James Elliott Bama (April 28, 1926 – April 24, 2022) was an American artist known for his realistic paintings and etchings of Western subjects. Life in Wyoming led to his comment, "Here an artist can trace the beginnings of Western history, see the first buildings, the oldest wagons, saddles and guns, and be up close to the remnants of Indian culture ... And you can stand surrounded by nature's wonders."
Biography
Born in
When discharged from the service, and back in New York City, he studied drawing and anatomy at the
In 1964 he married Lynne Klepfer, a New York University graduate with an art history major. Two years later, in June 1966, the couple headed west as guests of artist Bob Meyers at his Circle M ranch near Cody, Wyoming. Meyers had walked out on his career as a successful Manhattan illustrator with such magazines as True and The Saturday Evening Post to run his ranch and paint. After return visits in 1967, the Bamas left New York and moved, in September 1968, into a cabin on Meyers' ranch. Bama began to paint contemporary Western subjects during the daytime while doing his freelance illustrations in the evenings. He recalled, "I never came out here with the idea to be a Western artist. It just happened, and that’s the way it should be."
In 1970 Bob Meyers was murdered, and his widow Helen moved from the ranch. The Bamas moved to a house on Dunn Creek, Wapiti, 20 miles outside Cody, in 1971. In May 1971, Bama connected with a New York dealer, prompting his decision to abandon illustration and put his total concentration into the creation of easel paintings. In Wapiti, James and Lynne Bama built a home and studio, moving into it when their son Ben was born in 1977.
His work is collected in The Western Art of James Bama (Bantam Books, 1975) and The Art of James Bama (1993). Brian M. Kane's James Bama: American Realist (Flesk, 2006) has an introduction by Harlan Ellison.
Bama died on April 24, 2022, four days before his 96th birthday.[3]
Style
Bama's art is realistic. He sometimes took advantage of his medium to use lighting techniques—such as butterfly lighting — that would not be practical in a photograph taken under ambient light. Thousands of photographs he took as studies for his paintings are held by the McCracken Research Library at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.
Awards
Bama was inducted into the Illustrator’s Hall of Fame on June 28, 2000. At the
He was inducted into the Monster Kid Hall Of Fame at The Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards.[citation needed]
References
- ISBN 0-9723758-8-0.
- ^ "The Art of Joe DeVito - Tim Lasiuta Interview". Archived from the original on 2008-08-20. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
- ^ "James Bama – RIP". The Daily Cartoonist. April 24, 2022. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
- Kelton, Elmer. The Art of James Bama. Trumbull, Connecticut: Greenwich Workshop, 1993.
- Kane, Brian M. James Bama: American Realist. Flesk Publications, ISBN 0-9723758-8-0, 2006.
External links
- Big Horn Galleries: James Bama
- James Bama: American Realist (2006)
- Entry at isfdb.org
- James Bama at IMDb
- James Bama discography at Discogs
- James Bama's photographs are preserved at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.