The firstborn son of a peasant family and amateur folk painter father, Jan Uprka, who passed on his love of art not only to his eldest son, but also to Joza's younger brother Franta, who later became a sculptor.
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While studying at the gymnasium in Olomouc, he decided to pursue a career as a professional painter and went to study at the Academy of Painting in Prague. In his 20s, he moved to Munich, where he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts.
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He left Munich and traveled for Paris, where he followed his classmates from Munich in the autumn of 1892 (Mucha, Marold, Němejc). Later, Uprka went on a tour of the London and Dutch museums in February 1893.
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With the organizational help of Alphonse Mucha, he participated in the Paris Salon of French Artists in 1894 to present his painting "Pilgrimage to St. Anthony" and received the Honorable Mention Award.
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At the beginning of 1897 (February), he organized a group exhibition of watercolors and oil paintings at the Topič Salon in Prague, where he also exhibited "Ride of the Kings" in Vlčnov, completed at the end of 1896.
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Near his native Kněždub, in Hroznova Lhota, Uprka bought a cellar with a small plot of land, on which he built a house and studio in 1898. After the birth of his first son Jožka, Uprka married his mother, folk painter Anežka Bařinová.
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Group exhibition of Joža Uprka, Exhibition Halls at Miethkeho, Vienna.
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In 1902, Uprka organized the first joint exhibition of Moravian and Slovak artists in Hodonín, which was also viewed by the renowned French sculptor Auguste Rodin during his visit to Bohemia and Moravia.
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Jóža Uprka, solo exhibition within the framework of the XI. member exhibition of the SVU Mánes, Pavilion under the Kinský garden, Prague. Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair.
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An exhibition of his paintings together with his brother Franta, Cyril Mandel and his own pupil Antoš Frolka in the recently rebuilt villa in Hroznova Lhota designed by architect Dušan Jurkovič.
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Establishes the Association of Fine Artists of the Moravian Academy of Fine Arts (SVUM). The Association aimed to awaken artistic life in Moravia and promote folk art in its original form. Alfons Mucha also joined the association.
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March 14th – April 22nd. Exhibition of Slovak Art, The Doré Galleries, London. The exhibition and its promotion were assisted by British publicist and historian Robert William Seton-Watson.
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On May 4, 1913, the House of Artists was ceremonially opened on the 10th anniversary of SVUM. Joža Uprka played a significant role in its establishment. His eldest son Jožka died just before the opening.
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He leaves for Slovakia, where he buys a summer residence from the widow of the Hungarian minister Gabor Barros. In Klobušice near Ilava, he lived in his own chateau with a studio until 1937.
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In 1925, he painted his last larger composition on the theme of Saint Anthony's Pilgrimage, which was then exhibited in the 24th International Exhibition of Paintings at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, PA.
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In 1930 he exhibited at the Twenty-ninth Annual International Exhibition of Paintings at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh, PA.
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To mark Uprka's 70th birthday, a retrospective exhibition of his paintings was held at the turn of 1931–32, under the auspices of the Czechoslovak government.
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He sells the estate Klobušice and returns to Hroznová Lhota. His declining health begins to manifest itself, making it impossible for him to continue creating.
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Buried next to Antoš Frolka and Franta Úprka in Kněždub at the Church St. John the Baptist.
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