Boren, James 1921 - 1990
A noted watercolor painter of western scenes and member of the Cowboy Artists of America, James Boren was born in Waxahatchie, Texas, the son of a minister. He knew as a teenager that he wanted to be an illustrator but his schooling at Southwestern College was interrupted by military service in the Marines. After the war in 1951, he earned his M.F.A. from the Kansas City Art Institute and then taught for two years at St. Mary's College.
With his earnings, he traveled the Southwest and also painted in Alaska, and in 1956 moved to Denver where he worked as a concept illustrator for the Martin Company. In 1959, he began selling cowboy paintings, and in 1964, he became Art Director of the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. He loved that job because he met so many of the artists he admired. He first exhibited there in 1969 and sold thirty-eight of the forty paintings. This success gave him the confidence to be a full-time painter. He was named Texas State Artist of the Year, and as a member of the Cowboy Artists of America, won the gold medal in watercolor seven times.
