Wilhelm Kagel

WILHELM KAGEL (1867-1935)

Fresco painter, studio potter and pottery manufacturer Wilhelm Kagel was born in Gnoien, Mecklenburg Germany on the 21st October 1867. He initially worked as a journeyman painter, but from 1887 studied fresco and decorative painting at the School of Applied Crafts (Kunstgewerbeschule) in Munich. He settled in Partenkirchen in 1891, establishing a decoration business. When orders for fresco painting slowed, he turned his attention to pottery, installing his own kiln in 1904 and in 1906 established his Art Craft Studios (Kunsthandwerkliche Werkstätten), where he made hand thrown "Folk Art" decorated tableware. The workshop employed 20 employees by 1910. Wilhelm Kagel died on the 14th March 1935 and was succeeded by his son Willy Kagel Jr (1906-1987). The studio closed after Willy Kagel Jr’s death in 1987.