Medard Klein

American, 1905 - 2002


Medard Klein’s bold abstractions painted during the late 1930s and 1940s earned him accolades from the national art press and gained him broad exposure through important museum exhibitions in Europe and America. Born in Appleton, Wisconsin, Klein moved to Chicago at age twenty-one to become an artist. He studied at the Art Institute in the late 1920s with Edmund Giesbert; at the National Academy of Art under Audubon Tyler; and at the Chicago Studio School of Art under the noted muralist John W. Norton.

Medard Klein’s commitment to non-objective painting, derived from his keen interest in classical music and an indefatigable exploration of the psyche, showed a determined adherence to the avant-garde principles of cubism, surrealism, and expressionism. Klein’s association with the vanguard of American painting, evidenced by his association with the Museum of Non-Objective Painting in New York, shows the national acclaim his artwork achieved during his lifetime.

  • Arrangement #84, 1949
    Oil on canvas
    30 x 36 inches

    Signed and dated Klein ‘49, lower right; Titled on reverse

    #251
  • Untitled (Black and White), 1942
    Gouache on paper
    20 x 25 inches

    Signed and dated Klein ‘42, lower right.

    #7818
  • Drawing #72, ca. 1945
    Watercolor, gouache, ink and graphite on paper
    11 1/2 x 14 inches

    Signed Klein and titled on reverse.

    #7797
  • Abstraction, ca. 1945
    Graphite on paper
    3 3/4 x 3 1/2 inches
    #2353
  • Abstraction, ca. 1945
    Graphite on paper
    3 1/4 x 3 1/4 inches
    #2354
  • Abstraction
    Graphite on paper
    6 x 3 3/4 inches
    #2356
  • Abstraction
    Graphite on paper
    6 x 3 3/4 inches
    #2357
  • Untitled (Abstraction), ca. 1945
    Ink on paper
    14 x 11 inches
    #2403
  • Drawing #45, 1945
    Graphite on paper
    9 x 12 inches

    Signed and dated Klein '45 lower left; titled on reverse.

    #2351

Medard Klein’s bold abstractions painted during the late 1930s and 1940s earned him accolades from the national art press and gained him broad exposure through important museum exhibitions in Europe and America. Born in Appleton, Wisconsin, Klein moved to Chicago at age twenty-one to become an artist. He studied at the Art Institute in the late 1920s with Edmund Giesbert; at the National Academy of Art under Audubon Tyler; and at the Chicago Studio School of Art under the noted muralist John W. Norton.

Medard Klein’s commitment to non-objective painting, derived from his keen interest in classical music and an indefatigable exploration of the psyche, showed a determined adherence to the avant-garde principles of cubism, surrealism, and expressionism. Klein’s association with the vanguard of American painting, evidenced by his association with the Museum of Non-Objective Painting in New York, shows the national acclaim his artwork achieved during his lifetime.

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