Born in Boston, Massachusetts, James Wells Champney (American, 1843–1903) was a painter and illustrator known for rustic genre scenes, portraits, and landscapes. Early training in drawing and anatomy, combined with study in Europe under Édouard Frère and in Antwerp and Italy, shaped his broad, painterly style, one of the first in America to embrace the spirit of Impressionism.

As a young man he took drawing classes at Lowell Institute and studied anatomy under Oliver Wendell Holmes. At sixteen years of age, he was an apprentice to a wood engraver, but terminated the relationship to serve in the Civil War in 1862. He contracted malaria and was discharged from the military, and soon taught drawing classes at Dr. Dio Lewis's Young Ladies Seminary for two years beginning in 1864.

Deciding to become a professional artist, Champney left for Europe in October of 1866. His first stop was London, and a month later his travels took him to Ecouen, France where he was a student of Edouard Frere. Two years later, he studied in Antwerp under Van Lerius, and the year following traveled to Italy where he exhibited his first genre painting at the Paris Salon.

Champney settled in Deerfield, Massachusetts, where he translated European rural influences to American subjects. He illustrated for Scribner’s magazine, taught at Smith College, and created pastel portraits and genre paintings celebrated for their vitality and charm. His works capture the everyday life, landscapes, and personalities of 19th-century America.

An elevator accident took Champney's life in 1903, in New York City,