Shade by Olaf Wieghorst

Olaf Wieghorst (1899–1988)

Born in Denmark in 1899, Olaf Wieghorst developed a lifelong passion for horses and the American West at an early age. After arriving in New York City as a young man, he served in the U.S. Cavalry on the Mexican border as a horseshoer and later worked as an Arizona ranch hand, adopting the Quarter 2C brand as his signature insignia. Combining his hands-on experience in the saddle with self-taught artistic discipline—including years spent on the NYPD Mounted Division—Wieghorst crafted authentically detailed paintings and sculptures that captured the true spirit and rugged reality of Western life.

By the 1940s, Wieghorst had established himself as one of the premier Western artists of his era, gaining widespread acclaim for his equine portraits, including famous horses like Roy Rogers’ Trigger and Gene Autry’s Champion. Over the course of his prolific career, he produced thousands of works that earned places in major national museums and the private collections of three U.S. presidents. Today, Wieghorst is remembered as a true master of Western art, celebrated for his dynamic depiction of frontier history and the equine form.