Otto Nagel

Otto Nagel
Otto Nagel (1950)
Born	27 September 1894 Berlin-Wedding Germany
Died	July 12, 1967(1967-07-12) (aged 72) Berlin-Biesdorf, German Democratic Republic (East Germany)
Nationality	German
Occupation	painter
Political party	SED
Spouse(s)	Valentina Nikitina/Nagel (1904-1983)

Otto Nagel (27 September 1894 – 12 July 1967) was a German painter.

Born at Berlin-Wedding, Nagel was the son of a carpenter. After completing his basic schooling he briefly entered into an apprenticeship with a stained glass painter, but soon broke this off. In 1912 he joined the Social Democratic Party. He was a conscientious objector during the First World War, and was imprisoned for refusing to serve. After the war he first began to paint after being exposed to the work of August Macke. He gradually became a staunch communist, joining the Communist Party of Germany in 1920. Throughout the 1920s he was very active in the Berlin art scene, becoming acquainted with Käthe Kollwitz, El Lissitzky, and many other notables. He became secretary of the Workers International Relief, and in 1922 he co-founded the "artist's relief" division thereof with Erwin Piscator. In 1924, Nagel joined the Red Group in Berlin and accompanied an exhibition of young artists to the Soviet Union. He was close friends with Heinrich Zille and Käthe Kollwitz, whose estate he later handled. Through Nagel, numerous writings about her work have been published. In 1925 he married the Russian singer-actress Valentina ("Walli") Nikitina. From 1928 to 1931, he joined the November Group and was a co-founder of the Association of Revolutionary Visual Artists. From 1928 to 1932, he was publisher and editor-in-chief of the satirical magazine Eulenspiegel.