Bagg was the pupil of M. Woodruff of Aurora, Illinois. He is sometimes considered the first professional art teacher in Nebraska. He began his career at Peru Normal School in 1895 at Peru, Nebraska and later taught at Nebraska Wesleyan and Cotner College. He exhibited in the 1885 Chicago Exposition. Bagg was a well-known calendar artist producing a host of images for the Murphy Calendar Company of Red Oak, Iowa. He also painted a number of religious subjects for churches in Lincoln and Omaha. He was best known for his western subjects and painted numerous scenes of western life in Colorado and Nebraska.