Otto Kursell

Life & Legacy

Otto Konstantin Gottlieb von Kursell (28 November 1884 – 30 August 1967) was a Baltic German painter and graphic artist, ministerial official, member of the Reichstag, director of the State Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin-Charlottenburg, and senator of the Prussian Academy of Arts. Having gained recognition as a master student of Franz von Stuck, Kursell quickly earned a reputation as a portrait painter. After World War I, he lent his talent to antisemitic and anti-communist movements. He published numerous political caricatures targeting Jews, Russians, and communists. He gave inflammatory speeches and actively participated in guard duties against members of the Spartacus League, as well as in field exercises and patrols.
Through Alfred Rosenberg, Kursell met Dietrich Eckart, who not only published his work but also recruited him to contribute to the magazine Auf gut deutsch. Kursell also provided antisemitic caricatures for Völkischer Beobachter, Phosphor, and Völkischer Kurier. In 1924, he published illustrations of the defendants in the Hitler trial. As one of the highly paid National Socialist artists, Kursell actively promoted Nazi propaganda in his works and teaching until the end of World War II. Interned by the Soviet occupation forces until 1950, he lived the rest of his life in seclusion and died in Munich.