Printmaker, painter, and sculptor Bruce Obomeyoma Onobrakpeya was born in Agbara-Otor, Delta State, Nigeria on August 30, 1932. His family is a part of the Urhobo people, and his father was a noted carver. They relocated to Benin City, Edo State when Bruce was a child. There he attended Western Boys High School and studied under Edward Ivehivjobe who encouraged his love of art. Upon graduation in 1953 he found work as a high school art teacher for four years before earning a scholarship to study at the Nigerian College of Arts, Science, and Technology (now Ahmadu Bello Univeristy, Zaita). Having a deep knowledge of traditional arts, lore, and practices of the Urhobo people, he blended the Western techniques he learned at the school with his already burgeoning Urhobo-influenced style.

He soon cofounded the Zaria Art Society with fellow artists Uche Okeke, Demas Nwoko, and Yusuf Grillo. Known as the "Zaria Rebels," they began conversations about decolonizing African art. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s he would become involved in various West African luminary circles that aimed to promote the development of indigenous African-led art, literary, and music movements in the contemporary world. 

In the mid 1950s Onobrakpeya traveled to the cities of Ibadan, Osgobo, and Ife to study printmaking, and then to the U.S. to study at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine. In 1959, he was given his fist solo exhibition in Ughelli, and was thereafter a regular exhibitor throughout Africa, Britain, Europe, and the US. In the 1990s he founded the Bruce Onobrakpeya Foundation, a non-governmental organization operated by artists who teach and do outreach for global awareness of African art. 

In addition to his reputation as an artist and supporter of Nigerian and West African art, Onobrakpeya has developed various printmaking techniques over the years. Among these are the bronzed lino relief, plastocast relief, metal foil deep etching, and more. He was a Master Printer for several years at Mbari Club and in various schools in Osgobo.

Onobrakpeya has received various awards and recognitions throughout his lengthy career, including: Living Human Treasure Award, UNESCO (2006); Honorary Doctorates from Delta State University (2017) and University of Ibadan (1989); the Nigerian National Order of Merit (2017); and the U.S. Exchange Alumni Lifetime Acheivement Award (2024), among many others. His work is held in collections throughout the world, including the SMO Contemporary, Lagos, Nigeria; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; The Tate, London; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, Washington, D.C.; the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; and many others. He continues to live and work in Agbar-Otor.