Nick Eggenhofer was born in southern Bavaria, Germany, in 1897, but after attending Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show, he fell in love with the American West.

After his family migrated to New Jersey in 1913, the young Eggenhofer’s fascination with the region continued to grow and he yearned to travel to the wide open spaces of the West. It would be many years, however, before he had the opportunity to do so. Instead, he rode the metaphoric range of his imagination and soon became one of the most prolific illustrators of Western pulp magazines. Thousands of these pulp magazines (so named for their low-grade paper) were produced on a weekly basis and the demand for illustrations, primarily pen and ink drawings, was enormous. Eggenhofer sometimes submitted several hundred drawings in a single week. Over the course of forty years, he completed more than 20,000 drawings for pulp magazines and also illustrated hundreds of books.

Despite the great demands on his time, Eggenhofer became a true student of Western history. He was a careful researcher and prided himself on the historical accuracy of his depictions of the men and women who settled the West and the tools they used. He became particularly adept at representing wagons, stagecoaches, and other modes of early Western transportation.

Despite the great demands on his time, Eggenhofer became a true student of Western history. He was a careful researcher and prided himself on the historical accuracy of his depictions of the men and women who settled the West and the tools they used. He became particularly adept at representing wagons, stagecoaches, and other modes of early Western transportation.

After he had spent many years working as an illustrator in New York City, Eggenhofer finally achieved enough success to begin traveling extensively in the West. He and his wife eventually settled in Cody, Wyoming, only a short distance from the Buffalo Bill Historical Center; bringing his childhood fascination with the American West full circle.

Works of art by Nick Eggenhoffer are courtesy of and copyrighted by Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art.

Collections:
Buffalo Bill Historical Center; Eiteljorg Museum; National Center for American Western Art; National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum; Rockwell Museum of Western Art