Elmer Wachtel (1864-1929) was an American painter who lived and worked in Southern California.

[1][5] Wachtel worked as a ranch hand and as a furniture store clerk while saving money to attend art school.

[1] Wachtel married sculptor Marion Kavanagh in 1904; the two lived in the Arroyo Seco region of Los Angeles.

[1] On August 31, 1929, Wachtel died suddenly while on a painting trip in Guadalajara, Mexico.

[1][3][9] During World War I, Wachtel became an informant for the U.S. Department of Justice by reporting to federal law authorities alleged pro-German and antiwar statements by militant socialists and fellow artists.