Otto Hagel
Otto Hagel (March 12, 1909– January 18, 1973) was a German-born American photographer and filmmaker. He and his wife Hansel Mieth were part of the school of socially conscious documentary photo-journalists that included Dorothea Lange, Imogen Cunningham, Peter Stackpole and Robert Capa. In the early 1930s, Hagel was a member of the San Francisco Film and Photo League.
Otto Hagel
Unknown author Unknown author or not provided · U.S. National Archives and Records Administration · Public domain
- Name
- Otto Hagel
- Born
- 12 March 1909
- Birthplace
- Fellbach, Kingdom of Württemberg, German Empire
- Died
- 18 January 1973
- Place of death
- California, United States
- Occupation
- photographer
- Spouse
- Hansel Mieth
- Nationality
- United States and Germany.
- Languages
- German.
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Otto Hagel (March 12, 1909– January 18, 1973) was a German-born American photographer and filmmaker. He and his wife Hansel Mieth were part of the school of socially conscious documentary photo-journalists that included Dorothea Lange, Imogen Cunningham, Peter Stackpole and Robert Capa. In the early 1930s, Hagel was a member of the San Francisco Film and Photo League.
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wikidata · Q7109617 · wikipedia · Otto Hagel
In this article
Biography
Biography
Hagel's photographs of waterfront workers are the basis of two books published by the West Coast ILWU: Men and Ships: A Pictorial of the Maritime Industry (1937); and Men and Machines: A Story About Longshoring on the West Coast Waterfront (1963). Hagel and Mieth photographed the inside of the Heart Mountain Japanese American internment camp for Life magazine in 1943, but the photographs were not published by Life, In the 1950s, the couple was blacklisted for refusing to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. Hagel and Meith bought a working ranch in Santa Rosa, California in 1941, and raised chickens for some years. A book with photographs from the period was published, as well as a pictorial in Life called "The Simple Life." During World War II, Hagel, still a German national, was under detention at home. In 1955 Edward Steichen selected Hagel's high-angle flash-lit photograph, of social scientist Paul Schuster Taylor (husband of Dorothea Lange) conducting a seminar in labor economics, for the world-touring Museum of Modern Art exhibition The Family of Man, seen by 9 million visitors.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Otto Hagel • Born — 12 March 1909 • Birthplace — Fellbach, Kingdom of Württemberg, German Empire • Died — 18 January 1973 • Place of death — California, United States • Occupation — photographer • Spouse — Hansel Mieth
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1909
Otto Hagel born at Fellbach.
1973
Otto Hagel died at California.
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Named by the record
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Fellbach.
Birth place
California.
Death place
Primary material
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reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q7109617: Otto Hagel
Reputable secondary · Wikidata
- “Otto Hagel”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority file
- VIAF cluster 54949621 for Otto Hagel, aggregating national library name authorities.
General reference · OCLC
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Mo-Ti Productions. Hansel Mieth: Vagabond Photographer [PBS Documentary]. 2023-10-18.
- 2.Earl Warren Oral History Project, California Social Scientist. Volume I: Education, Field Research, and Family Paul Schuster Taylor Introduction by Laurence I. Hewes, Jr. Interviews Conducted by Suzanne B. Riessin 1970
- 3.Steichen, Edward. The family of man : the photographic exhibition. Museum of Modern Art. 1955.
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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