A prolific yet meticulous artist, he made numerous portraits for nobility, well-known personalities, and government officials.

Josef Kriehuber left more than 3000 lithographs, with portraits of many people including some of the most illustrious figures of mid-19th century Central Europe.

[2] He was first trained by his brother Johann Kriehuber, then studied at the Vienna Academy under Hubert Maurer, then moved to Galicia, where he devoted himself to horse painting.

To earn himself money for the course at the academy, and for the cost of living, he became one of the most industrious lithographic employees of the publishing company Trentsensky.

[1] His final resting place, now an honorary grave,[clarification needed] is in Vienna's "Zentralfriedhof" (central cemetery).