Nick Eggenhofer (December 5, 1897 - March 7, 1985) was a German-born American painter, illustrator and sculptor of the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, the Western territories, and the West) is census regions United States Census Bureau As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the mea ...

. He was the author of two books.

Early life

Eggenhofer was born in

Gauting Gauting is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the Starnberg (district), district of Starnberg, in Bavaria, Germany with a population of more than 20,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Würm (Amper), Würm, southwest of Munich ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

on December 5, 1897. He emigrated to the United States in 1913. He graduated from the

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly known as Cooper Union, is a private college on Cooper Square in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-s ...

in New York City.

Career

Eggenhofer was an illustrator of

pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 until around 1955. The term "pulp" derives from the Pulp (paper), wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed, due to their ...

s like ''

Western Story Magazine ''Western Story Magazine'' was a pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 until around 1955. The term "pulp" derives from the Pulp (paper), wood pulp paper ...

'' from 1920 to 1950. He also illustrated over 50 Western-themed books. He became known as "the dean of Western illustrators." Eggenhofer became a painter in the late 1950s, and he moved his studio to

Cody, Wyoming Cody is a city in and the county seat of Park County, Wyoming, United States. It is named after Buffalo Bill Cody for his part in the founding of Cody in 1896. The population was 10,028 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, making Cod ...

in 1961. He painted and sculpted the American West, including horses, mules, cowboys and Native Americans. He exhibited his work at the

Buffalo Bill Center of the West The Buffalo Bill Center of the West, formerly known as the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, is a complex of five museums and a research library featuring art and artifacts of the American West located in Cody, Wyoming. The five museums are the Buf ...

in Cody, Wyoming in 1975 and 1981, and at the Museum of Western Art in

Kerrville, Texas Kerrville is a city in Texas, and the county seat of Kerr County, Texas, United States. The population of Kerrville was 24,278 at the 2020 census. Kerrville is named after James Kerr, a major in the Texas Revolution, and friend of settler-fo ...

in January 1985. He was a member of the

Cowboy Artists of America The Cowboy Artists of America (CAA) is an exclusive organization of artists that was founded in 1965. It was founded in 1965 by four prominent western artists, Joe Beeler, Charlie Dye, John Hampton and George Phippen, who have all since died. Si ...

from 1970 to 1974, and he won the Trustees Gold Medal from the

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 Western and Native American art works and artifacts. The facility also has the world's most extensive collection of Amer ...

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, Oklahoma in 1973. Eggenhofer authored two books, including an autobiography.

Personal life and death

Eggenhofer married Louise Strube in 1924. They had a daughter, Evelyn. Eggenhofer was a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. Eggenhofer died on March 7, 1985, in Cody, Wyoming, at age 87.

Selected works

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References

External links