Franz Kline Paintings

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.

Artist: Franz Kline

Franz KlineStill Life, c. 1946

$75,000

Still Life

By Franz Kline

Located in Bryn Mawr, PA

Still Life, c. 1946 Oil on canvas, 22 x 16 1/4 in. (55.88 x 41.28 cm) Framed dimensions: 32 x 26 inches Signed lower left: artist's monogram Provenance Private Collection (acquired ...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Franz Kline Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Franz KlineBelow South Ferry, 1941

$67,500

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 Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Franz KlineGloria, 1947

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 Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Vintage American Abstract Expressionist Framed Modernist MCM Oil Painting, 1950

$1,495

H 24 in W 31 in D 2 in

Vintage American Abstract Expressionist Framed Modernist MCM Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Vintage American modernist abstract oil painting. Oil on board. Framed. Measuring: 24 by 31 inches overall, and 18 by 26 painting alone. In excellent original condition. Nicely fram...

Category

1950s Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Angela WakefieldImpasto Abstract Seascape Landscape Miniature Study Contemporary British Artist, 2020

$1,103Sale Price|20% Off

H 11 in W 11 in D 3 in

Impasto Abstract Seascape Landscape Miniature Study Contemporary British Artist

By Angela Wakefield

Located in Preston, GB

Impasto Abstract Seascape Landscape Miniature Study by Contemporary British Artist Angela Wakefield Art measures 5 x 5 inches Frame measures 11 x 11 inches Framed in a high qualit...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Paintings

Materials

Paint, Acrylic, Board

Gilbert PelissierFrench 20th Century Abstract Nude Portrait of Lady Picasso Style Work & Period, 1970's

$1,307Sale Price|20% Off

H 20 in W 24 in

French 20th Century Abstract Nude Portrait of Lady Picasso Style Work & Period

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Abstract Expressionist Portrait of Nude Lady by Gilbert Pelissier (French born 1924) signed, circa 1960's-1970 period oil painting on canvas, unframed canvas size: 20 x 24 inches con...

Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Syril FrankGorgeous Abstract Expressionist Figures by Syril Frank, c. 1980

$1,200

H 21.75 in W 25.66 in D 1 in

Gorgeous Abstract Expressionist Figures by Syril Frank

Located in New York, NY

Syril Frank (American, 1929-2021) Untitled, c. 1970s/80s Oil on canvas Framed: 21 3/4 x 25 2/3 x 1 in. This fantastic painting in the abstract expressionist style loosely depicts a ...

Category

Late 20th Century Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Ethelyn Cosby StewartWind Flowers in a Tzu Chow Vase, 1933

$3,250

H 20 in W 16 in

Wind Flowers in a Tzu Chow Vase

By Ethelyn Cosby Stewart

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Wind Flowers in a Tzu Chow Vase, 1933, oil on canvas board, signed and dated lower right, 20 x 16 inches, label verso with title and original price ($185.00), exhibited 44th Annual E...

Category

1930s American Modern Franz Kline Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

Helen L. RobertsModern American Still Life Oil Painting Flowers Pitcher Mid Century Female, 1950

$920Sale Price|20% Off

H 16 in W 22 in

Modern American Still Life Oil Painting Flowers Pitcher Mid Century Female

Located in Buffalo, NY

A mid-century modern oil painting by listed female artist Helen L. Roberts. This painting depicts an interior scene with a vase of beautiful flowers and decorative pitcher. Housed ...

Category

1950s American Modern Franz Kline Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Dorothy DixonVintage Green and Sepia Surrealist Cityscape Abstract Expressionist Oil Painting, C. 1950

$795

H 23 in W 30 in D 1 in

Vintage Green and Sepia Surrealist Cityscape Abstract Expressionist Oil Painting

Located in Buffalo, NY

Vintage American abstract cityscape by Dorothy Dixon. Framed. Measuring: 23 by 30 inches overall. Signed on verso. Excellent condition, ready to hang and enjoy.

Category

20th Century Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Karl DempwolfParamount Ranch Oaks, 2025

$6,000

H 20.25 in W 24.25 in D 1.5 in

Paramount Ranch Oaks

By Karl Dempwolf

Located in Pasadena, CA

Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist UNFRAMED: 14" x 18" FRAMED: 20.25" x 24.25" x 1.5" Signed "K Dempwolf" on lower right Artist Statement "This is a movie ranch whe...

Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Board

Francis ChapinA Cheerful 1950s Mid-Century Modern Still Life of a Colorful Bouquet of Flowers, Circa 1950

$750

H 11.75 in W 11.25 in D 1 in

A Cheerful 1950s Mid-Century Modern Still Life of a Colorful Bouquet of Flowers

By Francis Chapin

Located in Chicago, IL

A Fabulous, 1950s Mid-Century Modern Still Life Painting of a Colorful Bouquet of Spring Flowers by Notable Chicago Artist, Francis Chapin (Am. 1899-1965). Completed in the vibrant,...

Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Franz Kline Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas, Board

Alex K. MasonJoy Bomb Triptych, Colorful Abstract Landscape, Oil on Boards Ready to Hang

$5,625

H 24 in W 54 in D 1.5 in

Joy Bomb Triptych, Colorful Abstract Landscape, Oil on Boards Ready to Hang

By Alex K. Mason

Located in Versailles, KY

Three colorful oil paintings on finished boards and ready to hang by Alex K. Mason. Lush foliage, vivid sky, bees circling flowers "Joy Bomb Tripytch" is painted in vivid pinks, blu...

Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Paintings

Materials

Oil, Board

Nerea CaosEve’s Spiral Abstract Oil Painting, Signed, 50x40 cm Canvas nude, 2025

$769Sale Price|20% Off

H 19.69 in W 15.75 in

Eve’s Spiral Abstract Oil Painting, Signed, 50x40 cm Canvas nude

Located in Sitges, Barcelona

Title: Eve’s Spiral Artist: Nerea Caos (Ferrol, Spain, 1993) Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 50 × 40 cm 19.7 × 15.7 in Framing: Unframed Period: Contemporary (ca. 2020s) Signatur...

Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Paintings

Materials

Oil, Canvas

Angela WakefieldEarthy Brown & Green Abstract Expressionist Art - a Unique Original Painting, 1999

$34,486

H 28.5 in W 38 in D 2.5 in

Earthy Brown & Green Abstract Expressionist Art - a Unique Original Painting

By Angela Wakefield

Located in Preston, GB

Earthy Brown & Green Abstract Expressionist Art - a Unique Original Painting - an extremely rare early work from leading British Contemporary Artist, Angela Wakefield. This colou...

Category

1990s Abstract Expressionist Franz Kline Paintings

Materials

Gesso, Canvas, Cotton, Paint, Varnish, Cotton Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, ...

Previously Available Items

Franz KlineChatham Square, 1948

Sold

H 41 in W 30 in

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 Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Franz Kline paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Franz Kline paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Bette Ridgeway, Anne Sargent Walker, and Rachel Personett.