Jimmy Wright was born in Union City, Tennessee in 1944. He earned a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1967. After graduating, he received a fellowship enabling him to study art around the world and he traveled to Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa before going on to earn an MFA from Southern Illinois University in 1971.

Wright’s work has been seen in solo exhibitions at Fierman Gallery, New York, NY (2022, 2016); Corbett vs. Dempsey, Chicago, IL (2023, 2016, 2007, 2004); DC Moore Gallery, New York, NY (2023, 2001, 1997); Roger Ramsay Gallery, Chicago, IL (1997); Midtown Payson Galleries, New York, NY (1994); and Tavelli Gallery, Aspen, CO (1993-94). In 2009, the Springfield Art Museum, MO, hosted the solo exhibition, Jimmy Wright: Twenty Years of Painting and Pastels. He has also been featured in numerous group exhibitions across the country. Wright's work is in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Art Institute of Chicago; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Speed Museum, Louisville; and other public institutions.

Jimmy Wright lives in New York City.