James Coignard was born in Tours, France, in 1925, and he died in Provence in 2008. He studied at the Art School of Nice in 1948 – 50. He worked in many places in France and in the US. He started as an expressionist but changed later into a more subdued abstract style, and he was also a prominent sculptor in bronze. His lithographies became well known over the world. He was fascinated by glass and his sculptures in this material became organic in shape and colorful.