An haife shi a Tuskegee, Alabama, Bridgman ɗan likita ne. Ya fara aiki a matsayin mai zane a Birnin New York, don Kamfanin Bankin Bankin Amurka a 1864<unk>65, kuma ya yi karatun zane a cikin shekaru guda a Ƙungiyar Ƙungiyar Brooklyn da kuma a Kwalejin Nazarin Ƙasa. Ya tafi Paris a 1866, kuma a 1867 ya shiga ɗakin karatu na masanin kimiyya mai suna Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824<unk>1904), inda ya yi tasiri sosai ta hanyar zane-zane na Gérôme, da kuma kula da al'amuran Gabas ta Tsakiya. Bayan haka, Paris ya zama hedkwatarsa. A 1874, an zabe shi a cikin Kwalejin Ƙasa ta Ƙasa a matsayin memba mai haɗin gwiwa, kuma ya zama cikakken memba a 1881. Tambaya: Menene aikin mahaifinsa?
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