Γεννήθηκε στο Βερολίνο στις 14 Μαΐου 1846 και πέθανε στις 19 Δεκεμβρίου 1917. Ήτο διάσημος γερμανός γλύπτης ο οποίος εργάστηκε στο Βερολίνα. Ειδικεύτηκε στη δημιουργία αγαλμάτων μυθολογικών μορφών. Από τα πιο φημισμένα έργα του είναι «Ο Θνήσκων Αχιλλέας»  και το «Lorelei Fountation» στη Νέα Υόρκη.

Σπούδασε στην Ακαδημία Καλών Τεχνών του Βερολίνου και αργότερα μαθητευόμενος των Ferdinand August Fischer, Gustav Blaeser and Albert Wolff. Το 1869 δημιούργησε το δικό του στούντιο. Το 1878 έκανε εκπαιδευτικό ταξίδι στην Ιταλία. Ο Χέρτερ ήτο καθηγητής και μέλος της Γερμανικής Ακαδημίας Καλών Τεχνών.

Ernst Gustav Herter (born 14 May 1846 in Berlin, Germany – died 19 December 1917 in Berlin) was a famous German sculptor who worked in Berlin. He specialized in creating statues of mythological figures. Among his most famous works is Sterbender Achill (Dying Achilles), created in Berlin in 1884. The statue was acquired by the Empress of Austria and became the centerpiece at her palace Achilleion in Corfu, Greece.

The Lorelei Fountain, a Heine memorial sculpture in the Bronx, New YorkOn the 8th of July 1899, Herter was present in New York when his Heinrich Heine memorial sculpture, known as the Lorelei Fountain, was unveiled in the Bronx, New York. The Lorelei Fountain was originally intended for Heine's city of birth, Düsseldorf, to mark the centennary of his birth. This project was squelched due to the antisemitic and nationalistic sentiment that pervaded the German Reich at that time.

Herter studied at the Academy of Arts in Berlin and later also as apprentice of Ferdinand August Fischer, Gustav Blaeser and Albert Wolff. In 1869 he created his own studio. In 1875 he made a study trip to Italy. Professor Herter was a member of the Berlin Academy of the Arts.