A native of Chicago, Dick Behrends returned home after serving over three years during World War II in both the European and Pacific Theatres with the 86th Division.

Starting his career as a Graphic Designer, he switched gears and became an Art Director and later a Creative Director for a Michigan Avenue advertising agency. In 1957 he joined a High Point, NC agency, became president, and remained with Behrends & Company until his retirement in 1990.

Although it was always there, his interest in the West was enhanced when he spent a year after high school hitch hiking the West.

Throughout his business life, his creative efforts were confined to developing ad campaigns for the agency’s clients. But all along he knew that someday, when he had the time, he would try his hand at sculpture and begin to put into three dimension some of the images of the West that he held in his mind.

As a sculptor, Behrends is basically self-taught, although he did attend evening classes at The Art Institute of Chicago and the Institute of Design, concentrating on Graphic Design.

Today his subjects mostly depict cowboys, soldiers, Indians, and their horses. The interaction between man and his horse is usually subtle or understated with an emphasis on authentic detail.