Friedrich Eckenfelder
German, 1861-1938
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Friedrich Eckenfelder was a Swiss-German impressionist painter, best known for his portrayals of farm horses and for townscapes with a background of the Swabian Alps. He was born and raised in modest circumstances, but his talent was discovered at an early age, so that he was able to receive training as a painter and later to enroll in the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. There he became one of the founding members of the Munich Secession.
Eckenfelder's preferred choice of subject emerged early on. By 1878, at the end of his basic education, he was referred to in a document as an "animal painter". After the First World War and the resulting changes in society and art, Eckenfelder moved back to Swabia. He was named an honorary citizen of Balingen in 1928, a street was named for him in 1931, a gallery devoted to his work was established in the town museum in 1978, and the banqueting hall of the town community centre was named in his honour.