Otto Kuhler

Otto Kuhler was a printmaker and industrial designer born in Remscheid, Germany on July 31, 1894.  He studied electrical engineering and served in the German army during WWI.  He was an expert draftsman and had a love of steam locomotives.  His first success as an artist was an automotive design for Mercedes, which won a gold medal in 1913.  After WWI he moved to the United States and began making etchings primarily of industrial subjects.  He was a promoter of Streamlined Steam Locomotives and eventually convinced the Milwaukee Railroad to produce a locomotive based on his design.  The Hiawatha was the first streamlined steam locomotive produced and propelled the design of steam locomotives over the next twenty years.  He stopped producing etchings in the early 1930’s and perused a career in industrial design.