Born in 1922 in Guentersberge, Germany, Karl Hagedorn studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. For a number of years, he designed and executed mosaics, murals, and stained glass windows until he immigrated to the United States. Living in St. Paul, Minnesota, he worked as a free-lance artist and taught at Hamline University and the St. Paul Art Center. His first major solo exhibition was at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis with frequent one man and group shows in the US and Europe from then on.