Franz Kline Art
American, 1910-1962
Franz Kline (1910 – 1962) was an American painter. He is associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement of the 1940s and 1950s. Kline, along with other action painters like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell and Lee Krasner, as well as local poets, dancers, and musicians came to be known as the informal group, the New York School. Although he explored the same innovations to painting as the other artists in this group, Kline's work is distinct in itself and has been revered since the 1950s.
Kline was born in Wilkes-Barre, a small coal-mining community in Eastern Pennsylvania. He studied art at Boston University from 1931 to 1935, then spent a year at the Heatherley School of Fine Art in London where he met his future wife, Elizabeth V. Parsons, a British ballet dancer. She returned to the United States with Kline in 1938, and Kline worked as a designer for a department store in New York state. He moved to New York City in 1939 and worked for a scenic designer. It was during this time in New York that he developed his artistic techniques and gained recognition as a significant artist. He later taught at a number of institutions including Black Mountain College in North Carolina and the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. He spent summers from 1956 to 1962 painting in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Kline's artistic training focused on traditional illustrating and drafting. During the late 1930s and early 1940s he worked figuratively, painting landscapes and cityscapes in addition to commissioned portraits and murals. His individual style can be first seen in the mural series Hot Jazz, which he painted for a New York bar in 1940. The series revealed his interest in breaking down representative forms into quick, rudimentary brushstrokes. The personal style he developed during this time, using simplified forms, became increasingly more abstract. Many of the figures he depicted are based on the locomotives, stark landscapes, and large mechanical shapes of his native, coal-mining community in Pennsylvania. This is sometimes only apparent to viewers because the pieces are named after those places and objects, not because they actually look like the subject. With the influence of the contemporary New York art scene, Kline worked further into abstraction and eventually abandoned representationalism. From the late 1940s onward, Kline began generalizing his figurative subjects into lines and planes which fit together much like the works of Cubism of the time.to
1
7
7
7
1
Below South Ferry
By Franz Kline
Located in New York, NY
Signed (at lower right): KLINE
EXHIBITED: Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, New York, November 1–30, 1960, The November Show, as “Moonlight in Lower Manhattan” // Pratt Institute, Brooklyn...
Category
Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Art
Materials
Oil, Board
Seated Woman (Elizabeth)
By Franz Kline
Located in New York, NY
EX COLL.: the artist; to I. David Orr (1904–1997), Long Island, New York; to his estate, 1997 until the present
Originally trained as a figurative painter, Kline was an exceptional ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Art
Materials
Pastel, Paper, Ink
Still Life
By Franz Kline
Located in Bryn Mawr, PA
Provenance
Private Collection (acquired directly from the artist);
Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, Sale #2326, 27 January 1965, Lot 168;
Private Collection (acquired from the abo...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Franz Kline Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Seated Nude Figure
By Franz Kline
Located in New York, NY
Signed (at lower left): FK [in monogram]
EX COLL.: the artist; to I. David Orr (1904–1997), Long Island, New York; to his estate, 1997 until the present
Originally trained as a fig...
Category
Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Art
Materials
Paper, Watercolor, Ink
Untitled
By Franz Kline
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Provenance:
Marlborough Gallery
David McKee, Inc.
Manny Silverman Gallery
Private collection, Los Angeles
Category
1950s Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Art
Materials
Paper, Ink
$104,000 Sale Price
20% Off
Chatham Square
By Franz Kline
Located in New York, NY
Signed (at lower left): FRANZ KLINE
RECORDED: Elizabeth Johnson, “Franz Kline’s Roots in Coal and Steel—at Allentown Art Museum,” Artblog (December 21. 2012), illus. in color // Tim...
Category
Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Art
Materials
Oil, Canvas
Price Upon Request
Gloria
By Franz Kline
Located in New York, NY
Signed (at lower right): FK [in monogram}
EXHIBITED: Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, October 1–November 24, 1968; Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, December 17, 1968–Jan...
Category
Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Art
Materials
Oil, Board
Price Upon Request
Related Items
Summer Sheep By Natalie Bird
Located in Deddington, GB
original
Oil on board
Image size: H:14 cm x W:18 cm
Sold Unframed
Please note that insitu images are purely an indication of how a piece may look
Oil on board
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Art
Materials
Oil, Board
Singed roses - abstraction art, made in cherry red, garnet red, white, grey
By Mila Akopova
Located in Fort Lee, NJ
Interior design paintings. The triptych is made with alcoholic ink in garnet red, cherry red, gray, white on Yupo paper. It can be in both horizontal and in vertical positions.
Each ...
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Art
Materials
Paper, Ink
The garden of delights - abstraction art, made in pink, purple, grey color
By Mila Akopova
Located in Fort Lee, NJ
Interior design paintings. The diptych is made with alcoholic ink in pink, purple, fuchia, grey color on Yupo paper.
Each work is 11 by 14 inches in size, framed (gold) with a styren...
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Art
Materials
Paper, Ink
Argentinian Tango, Mixed Media Abstract Expressionist
Located in Soquel, CA
Argentinian Tango, Mixed Media Abstract Expressionist
An abstract portrait in cool pastels accented in vibrant yellow and pink and lined in ink, by California-based artist, Ricardo de Silva (American). Paper size: 17.75"H x 12"W
From a collection of Ricardo de Silva's work and memorabilia. DeSilva was born in Brazil and grew up in Los Angeles. He was a gallery owner, first in Santa Barbara in the 1960's and 70's, then in San Jose in the 1980's. He was dedicated to promoting the work of talented upcoming artists, including Kogyo and Hasui Kiyochika, Robert Frame, Jim Stuckenberg, Alice Robertson Carr, Deborah Eve Alastra...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Art
Materials
Paper, Gouache, Ink, Watercolor
$636 Sale Price
20% Off
H 17.75 in W 12 in
Antique American School Mid Century Modern Abstract Expressionist Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American school abstract expressionist painting. Oil on board. Signed. In excellent original condition. Nicely framed in a period wood molding. Excellent condition, read...
Category
1940s Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$1,020 Sale Price
20% Off
H 27 in W 33 in D 2 in
Nicely Framed Antique American Modernist Abstract Expressionist Signed Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique American modernist abstract oil painting. Oil on board. Framed. Signed. Measuring 29 by 35 inches overall and 23 by 29 painting alone. In excellent original condition. Handso...
Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Art
Materials
Oil, Board
$1,180 Sale Price
20% Off
H 29 in W 35 in D 2 in
Mid Century Modern Abstract Expressionist Framed Original Large Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Nicely painted mid century abstract cubist oil painting. Great color and composition. Framed.
Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$620 Sale Price
20% Off
H 42 in W 30 in D 2 in
American Signed Abstract Expressionist Framed Mid Century Modern Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Nicely painted mid century abstract oil painting. Great color and composition. Framed. Signed.
Category
1960s Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$460 Sale Price
20% Off
H 12 in W 16 in D 2 in
Large Antique American Abstract Expressionist Vintage Signed Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Nicely painted mid century abstract cubist oil painting. Great color and composition. Framed. Signed.
Category
1950s Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$1,980 Sale Price
20% Off
H 37 in W 49 in D 2 in
Beach mediterranean seascape oil on canvas painting
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Frameless
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$552 Sale Price
42% Off
H 55.12 in W 31.89 in
1950s "View from the Window" Jack Hooper Mid Century Still Life Oil Painting
By Jack Hooper
Located in Arp, TX
Jack Hooper
"View From the Window"
c. 1950s
Oil on Canvas
32"x25.25" silver and black wood frame 26.5"x33.25"
Unsigned
Minor wear consistent with age and ...
Category
Mid-20th Century American Modern Franz Kline Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$1,750 Sale Price
50% Off
H 26.5 in W 33.25 in
Iguazu-made in orange, yellow, red, blue, pink, green
By Mila Akopova
Located in Fort Lee, NJ
Interior design paintings. The work was done with alcohol ink in orange, yellow, red, blue, pink and green color on Yupo paper. The work is 20 by 26 inches in size, framed in fine-qu...
Category
2010s Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Art
Materials
Paper, Ink
$980 Sale Price
34% Off
H 24 in W 30 in
Previously Available Items
Kitska
By Franz Kline
Located in New York, NY
Signed (at lower left): FK [artist's monogram]
EX COLL.: the artist; to I. David Orr (1904–1997), Long Island, New York; to his estate, 1997 until the present
Originally trained as...
Category
Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Art
Materials
Paper, Pastel, Ink, Watercolor
Elizabeth (Seated Figure with Cat)
By Franz Kline
Located in New York, NY
EX COLL.: the artist; to I. David Orr (1904–1997), Long Island, New York; to his estate, 1997 until the present
Originally trained as a figurative painter, Kline was an exceptional ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Art
Materials
Paper, Pastel, Ink
Franz Kline-Untitled-49" x 37.5"-Poster-1997-Abstract-Black & White
By Franz Kline
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Open edition reproduction of Franz Kline, Untitled, 1957.
Category
20th Century Franz Kline Art
Materials
Offset
Franz Kline-New York, NY-20" x 16"-Serigraph-1991-Abstract-Black & White
By Franz Kline
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Museum Reproduction Edition Serigraph printed by Editions Limited in 1991 and Published by Gallery A.P. J. Graphic Station. Copyrighted Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, 1991 and from the ...
Category
20th Century Franz Kline Art
Materials
Screen
Franz Kline-New York, NY-20" x 16"-Serigraph-1991-Abstract-Black & White
By Franz Kline
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Museum Reproduction Edition Serigraph printed by Editions Limited in 1991 and Published by Gallery A.P. J. Graphic Station. Copyrighted Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, 1991 and from the ...
Category
20th Century Franz Kline Art
Materials
Screen
Franz Kline-Untitled-49" x 37.5"-Poster-1997-Abstract-Black & White
By Franz Kline
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Open edition reproduction of Franz Kline, Untitled, 1957.
Category
20th Century Franz Kline Art
Materials
Offset
Franz Kline-Untitled-49" x 37.5"-Poster-1997-Abstract-Black & White
By Franz Kline
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Open edition reproduction of Franz Kline, Untitled, 1957.
Category
20th Century Franz Kline Art
Materials
Offset
Franz Kline-New York, NY-20" x 16"-Serigraph-1991-Abstract-Black & White
By Franz Kline
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Museum Reproduction Edition Serigraph printed by Editions Limited in 1991 and Published by Gallery A.P. J. Graphic Station. Copyrighted Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, 1991 and from the ...
Category
20th Century Franz Kline Art
Materials
Screen
Franz Kline at Sidney Janis (1950s exhibition poster)
By Franz Kline
Located in NEW YORK, NY
Franz Kline at Sidney Janis 1958
Rare original 1st printing featuring gallery dates and exhibit info on verso
Offset lithograph
22 x 26 inches
Double qua...
Category
1950s Modern Franz Kline Art
Materials
Lithograph
19th Century Beethoven Life Mask by Franz Klein
By Franz Kline
Located in Haarlem, NL
In order to create a sculpture of Beethoven (1770-1827) Austria sculptor Franz Klein got approval to cast a negative of his face and obtained a life mask tha...
Category
Early 19th Century Austrian Antique Franz Kline Art
Materials
Plaster
Franz Kline art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Franz Kline art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Franz Kline in ink, paper and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 1950s and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large Franz Kline art, so small editions measuring 12 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Mercedes Matter, Lawrence Kupferman, and Seymour Lipton. Franz Kline art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $104,000 and tops out at $104,000, while the average work can sell for $104,000.