Top tiered California watercolorist James Milford Zornes was born in Camargo, Oklahoma on January 25th, 1908. He studied at the Otis Art Institute.

His watercolors rank with such other California icons as Millard Sheets and Phil Paradise. He was especially known for painting W.P.A murals during World War II.

 His paintings are included in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Los Angeles, California, the Los Angeles County Museum, the National Academy of Design, and many others. He currently resides in Claremont, California.

He died on February 24th, 2008 at the age of 100.