Bridgman akaberekerwa muTuskegee, Alabama, uye aive mwanakomana wechiremba. Akatanga semudhirowa muNew York City, yeAmerican Bank Note Company muna 1864<unk>65, uye akadzidza hunyanzvi mumakore akafanana kuBrooklyn Art Association uye kuNational Academy of Design. Akaenda kuParis muna 1866, uye muna 1867 akapinda mu studio yemunyori anozivikanwa wepachikoro Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824<unk>1904), kwaakafuridzirwa zvikuru neGérôme's draftsmanship chaiyo, kupera kwakapfava, uye kunetseka nezvenyaya dzeMiddle East. Mushure meizvozvo, Paris yakava dzimbahwe rake. Muna 1874, akasarudzwa muNational Academy of Design senhengo yakabatana, uye akazova nhengo izere muna 1881.
chiremba