Information about John Eckstein

John Eckstein (Johann Eckstein) was a German-born sculptor, engraver and painter who worked briefly in London before establishing himself in his homeland and then in America.

He was born at Poppenreuth near Nuremberg, the son of Conrad Eckstein, a woodcarver and cabinet-maker, and was the elder brother of George Paul Eckstein (1739 - 1828) who was also a sculptor in England. He studied under Preissler, at the Nuremberg Academy of Arts before moving to England. He was in London from 1758 to 1765.

In 1765 Eckstein accepted an invitation from Frederick the Great to work at the Prussian court, where he became the king's principal sculptor, executing numerous works at Potsdam and Sans Souci. In 1769 another invitation took him to the court of the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg at Ludwigslust, who sent him a mission to England the next year. In London he met with an enthusiastic reception and exhibited wax portraits at the Royal Academy. After a year he returned to the Grand Ducal court, where he worked on the sculpture of the Hofkirche and made wax reliefs, including a surviving portrait of Friedrich Franz I. After four years at Ludwigslust he moved back to Berlin at the invitation of the king.[4] In 1775–6 he modelled for the porcelain factory there, and exhibited at the academy. In 1786 he took the death mask of Frederick, from which he made the heads for wax busts.[3] He continued to receive royal patronage from Frederick's successor, Frederick William.

In 1793 Eckstein wrote to George Washington from Potsdam, requesting money to pay for his passage to the United States, as he intended to settle in Philadelphia. It is not known if Washington responded, but Eckstein was in America by November of the same year, when he and his son Frederick advertised an exhibition of paintings, sculpture, and wax models at their house at 323 Market Street, Philadelphia. Eckstein became a founder member of the Philadelphia Academy and between 1810 and 1814 also showed work at the Society of Artists, where his exhibits included an equestrian figure of Washington, apparently intended for a monument to be erected in the city.

During his time in Philadelphia, he is credited with the design of the Small Eagle and the Heraldic Eagle for the reverse of the recently introduced United states coinage - first for the dollar, then adapted to the smaller denominations and engraved by Robert Scot, Chief Engraver of the Philadelphia Mint.

Eckstein did not find great success in the United States. According to an obituary "he had to lament that his professional labours did not meet with that encouragement in a new country, which is so liberally bestowed upon genius in Europe; and, like many of his brother artists, he had to struggle with adversity during many of the latter years of his life". In January 1817 Eckstein sailed for Havana, drawn by the prospect of being employed to finish a large monument that had been left incomplete. He died in Havana on 27 June 1817, aged 81.