James E. Seward was reared in Tullahoma, Tennessee and went on to study art in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Seward is a graduate of The Art Institute of Chicago.  After graduation, Seward apprenticed at two Chicago commercial art studios, but in 1954, the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. After a year with an agency, he joined Union Gospel Press for the next six years. Since that time, Seward has been self-employed as a freelance illustrator and painter and has created works for most of the large Protestant denominations including Standard Publishing in Cincinnati, the Methodists and Baptists in Nashville, the Concordia Lutherans in St. Louis, and the Nazarene Publishing House.

He is a widely recognized Master Storyteller Illustrator and portrait artist. His work was selected to be a part of the United States Department of the Interior, Arts in the Park nationwide tour, and was displayed in the Smithsonian Institute. He has completed over 22 illustrations for a Doubleday book entitled Ancient Greece. In 1987 and 1989, Jim was one of 100 artists around the country picked for the National Arts in the Parks competition. James E. Seward has been commissioned for portraitures by many organizations. His paintings grace the walls of such companies as the General Motors Corporation, General Tire International, Wells Fargo Bank, McDonald Investment Company, and the Will Rogers Museum in Oklahoma.  He resides with his wife in Cleveland, Ohio.