A 20th century American Folk Art oil painting on canvas depicting a portrait of James Jim Bowie with a knife. Unsigned. Framed. A paper label of Charles G. Carlton, on the backside. James Bowie, 1796 to 1836, was a 19th century American pioneer, slave smuggler and trader, and soldier who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He was among the Americans who died at the Battle of the Alamo. Stories of him as a fighter and frontiersman, both real and fictitious, have made him a legendary figure in Texas history and a folk hero of American culture. A Bowie knife is a pattern of fixed blade fighting knife created by Rezin Bowie in the early 19th century for his brother James Bowie, who had become famous for his use of a large knife at a duel known as the Sandbar Fight. American Folk Art Paintings, Historical Personal Portraits, and Collectibles. One of a kind artwork.