Sprague was born in Buffalo, New York, and raised in south Arkansas, graduating from El Dorado High School. He attended the University of Oklahoma and graduated with a BA in Fine Arts, with majors in botany, architecture, and finally, in painting. Sprague resided in New York City and worked as booking agent and shipboard companion for United States Lines. He lived for a year on Swan's Island, Maine, where his father's family started life in the U.S. His conviction to make art his life and his living came to fruition in 1975 when he moved to New Mexico, working briefly in Bosque Farms in a plant nursery, then moving to a one-room arrangement in Santa Fe in 1979 where he dedicated his life to his art.