John Eckstein was born in Poppenreuth, Germany near Nuremburg in 1735. He studied at the Academy of Arts in Nuremburg and then moved to London. After a time working in London, he returned to Germany where he was invited to become the chief sculptor of Fredrick the Great. In 1793 Eckstein wrote to George Washington from Potsdam asking for money to journey to America, so that he could set up business in Philadelphia. It is unknown if Washington responded, but that November he was in Philadelphia. Eckstein was unsuccessful in America, and died in Havanna in 1817.