The Life and Training of John Eckstein Born in Poppenreuth near Nuremberg, John Eckstein grew up in a household defined by the tactile realities of craftsmanship. His father, Conrad Eckstein, was a skilled woodcarver and cabinet-maker, a profession that likely shaped the boy's early understanding of form and material. This environment of manual precision provided a foundation for John, who would eventually expand his reach beyond the workshop to become a sculptor, engraver, and painter. He was not the only one in the family to pursue such paths; his brother, George Paul Eckstein, also became…