Born on a farm in Voigstaedt, Weimar, Germany, Richard Lorenz became a painter and illustrator of dramatic western scenes, especially of the Plains Indian culture and the consequences of encounters with the white man's civilization. His most famous pupil was Frank Tenney Johnson. He was also well known for panoramic* painting and for depictions of horses, genre and landscapes.

As a young person in Germany, Lorenz determined to become a Biblical painter because he was fascinated by the subject of wandering, nomadic people in wilderness areas. He grew up in a village twenty-eight miles north of Weimar, and at age 15, began art study in Weimar including at the Royal Academy of Arts, where his work was recognized with several ...