Over years of study and exploration, Stephen Lyman discovered his calling: to paint, with the passionate commitment, not just wildlife but the wilderness, and to communicate its joy and the experience of the wilderness as a whole. Lyman's artwork -- and indeed his life -- was heavily influenced by the writings and teachings of naturalist John Muir.

Born in 1957, Lyman grew up in Idaho before graduating from the Art Center School of Design in Pasadena, California, with the expectation of a career in commercial art. His career followed a very different path when his fine art met with popular success at an early age. He was only in his mid-20's when his first painting was published as a limited edition fine art print by The Greenwich Workshop in 1983. By 1990 Lyman was considered a "phenomenon" in the fine art print market with his editions selling out at the publisher immediately upon release.

His book Into the Wilderness: An Artist's Journey was published by The Greenwich Workshop Press to critical and popular acclaim in 1995.

Stephen actively shared the wonder of the natural world with a legion of collectors until his untimely death in 1996 due to a hiking accident in Yosemite National Park, one of the places he considered sacred and most loved to be. He is survived by his widow Andrea and two sons who continue to live in a home Steve and Andrea designed and had built together in Idaho.