James Peele was the son of a pioneer settler, born in Geelong, Australia in 1847. He came to New Zealand in 1865 where he established a long banking career with the Bank of New Zealand. As manager of the Rangiora branch he designed and saw built the structure that still stands there today.

He eventually took up painting as a profession and moved to Melbourne, Victoria, where he followed a course of teaching and painting. Some of his works have been secured by the Canterbury Society of Arts and are hung in the permanent gallery. Peele died in Christchurch in 1905 after a sudden stroke at the age of 59.

On his death the Christchurch press wrote Peele was widely known in art circles and well respected - his pictures were distributed the world over and he never had any difficulty selling them to tourists and distinguished visitors. Peele's works are held in public collections throughout New Zealand as well as a number of leading Australian institutions.