James Bama's Photography

Although James Bama (1926 - 1922) is best known for his highly detailed and realistic paintings, photographs were the foundation of his imagery, both during his first career as an illustrator and later when he became a studio artist. This publication offers fresh perspectives on Bama's portraits by focusing on his reference photographs, which constitute insightful and compelling works on their own.Showcasing more than 150 images from the James Bama archive in the McCracken Research...
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Although James Bama (1926 - 1922) is best known for his highly detailed and realistic paintings, photographs were the foundation of his imagery, both during his first career as an illustrator and later when he became a studio artist. This publication offers fresh perspectives on Bama's portraits by focusing on his reference photographs, which constitute insightful and compelling works on their own.Showcasing more than 150 images from the James Bama archive in the McCracken Research Library at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, this catalogue presents a powerful visual conversation about Bama's maturing vision of the West. Bama's photographs are thought provoking, inspiring questions about the resilience and transfer of traditions across generations, the formation of identities, and the relationship between the artist and his subjects. Taken as a group, they comprise a multi-faceted portrait of the American West in the late twentieth century.