Preliminary Inventory of the Dan Zudell Photographs

Daniel Steve Zudell was born to John and Mary (Hronce) Zudell in Lorain, Ohio on December 3, 1926. He joined the U.S. Army in 1945 and served with the occupation force in Germany before returning to Ohio and graduating from Lorain High School in 1946. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Art Center School of Design in Pasadena, California. He settled in Phoenix, Arizona in 1950, where he worked as a salesman, photographer, and laboratory technician for several photographic studios. Zudell married Mary Ellen Landis in Los Angeles, California on May 27, 1951 and the couple had three children, Sheryl (Zudell) Hallmark, Daniel Steve, and Lora (Zudell) Pence.

Zudell opened his own photography studio in Phoenix in approximately 1960. His business included portraiture, commercial photography, architectural photography, and commissioned work. He also took numerous personal photographs during trips around the United States and to Europe. In the 1970s, Zudell resumed his education, earning first a teaching certificate and then a Masters of Elementary Education. Although he never taught full-time, he substituted at schools in the Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Glendale areas.

Zudell sold his photography studio and most of his equipment in 1985. In his retirement, he produced brochures, church bulletins, and greeting cards in addition to taking up watercolor painting. He died in Phoenix on April 15, 2002.