Eggenhofer, Nick 1897 - 1985
Born in Gauting, Germany in 1897, Nick Eggenhofer grew up playing "Cowboys and Indians" thanks to Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. He also saw Western movies and Remington and Russell works reproduced in German magazines.
In 1913, Eggenhofer came to New York where he took night classes at Cooper Union for four years. When Eggenhofer decided to become a western artist, he made models of wagons and stagecoaches that were to scale. Eggenhofer traveled west in 1925 after getting married. He did many illustrations for Western books and magazines. He even wrote and illustrated his own book titled Wagons, Mules, and Men. Eggenhofer eventually moved to Cody, Wyoming where he portrayed the wagon-train era of America and even won top prize at the Cowboy Hall of Fame.
Eggenhofer was both a member of The Cowboy Artists of America and the National Academy of Western Art. He died in Cody, Wyoming in 1985 at the age of 88. His works are held by the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and many important private collections.