Olaf Wieghorst began his career not as an artist, but an acrobat. Olaf made his professional debut at the age of nine and became known as "Little Olaf- the Miniature Acrobat". He performed in Copenhagen and around Europe until his contract was cancelled in 1916, at which time he found work on a stock farm. His childhood love of horses grew stronger and he became a skilled rider while at the farm. It was during this time that Wieghorst first began to paint.
A fascination with the "Wild West" brought the young artist to the United States in 1918. He lived and worked in New York for a period of time before he enlisted in the United States Cavalry and headed west. Olaf spent three years patrolling the Mexican-American border where he learned tack riding, rodeo, and horseshoeing. Following his military duty, Wieghorst went to Arizona and worked on a ranch.
Wieghorst began selling his western scenes around 1940, and many were reproduced as magazine and calendar art. He first received commissions for his portraits of horses and bronzes in 1940.
In 1944, Wieghorst headed west with his wife, Mabel. The couple settled in El Cajon, California the following year. He painted full time, continuing to focus on western scenes.
Works held: Amon Carter Museum; Eisenhower Library, Abilene; National Cowboy Hall of Fame; Many private collections.
Further Reading: Artists of the American West: A Biographical Dictionary, Vol. 1, Doris Ostrander Dawdy, Swallow Press, Chicago, 1980. 3 Vols.; Harmsen's Western Americana: A Collection of One-Hundred Western Paintings with Biographical Profiles of the Artists, Dorothy Harmsen, Northland Press, Flagstaff, Arizona, 1971.; The Illustrated Biographical Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West, Peggy and Harold Samuels, Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, New York, 1976.; Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America, Vol. 3. Peter Hastings Falk, Georgia Kuchen and Veronica Roessler, eds., Sound View Press, Madison, Connecticut, 1999. 3 Vols.
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