Medard P Klein

Thomas French Fine Art holds a large selection of prints and drawings by non-objective Chicago artist Medard P. Klein.

Medard Klein was born in Appleton Wisconsin on January 6th, 1905. At the age of 21, Klein left his rural hometown and moved to Chicago where he began studying art. During the late 1920’s Klein studied at the Art Institute under 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. Most of Klein’s professional education focused mainly on the graphic arts, but it was through self-teaching that Klein developed his personal style. Throughout his lengthy career, Klein produced works using various media. He worked in oil, casein, watercolor, gouache, pastel, pencil, pen and ink, silverpoint, lithography, monotype, and a unique method of printing called the “Lumiprint”. During the late 1930’s and 40’s, Klein developed a unique abstract style that was heavily influenced by the compositions of classical music. Klein strove to represent music in his unique visual language, creating works that are full of color and expressive line. Klein participated in exhibitions with the Museum of Non-Objective Painting and also exhibited at The National Academy of Design, The Brooklyn Museum, The Carnegie Institute, The San Francisco Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1948, Klein was chosen as one of the few American painters to participate in the exhibition “Realites Nouvelles” in Paris. The 1950’s marked the emergence of Abstract Expressionism, and Klein, along with other Modernist artists, was out shadowed by the shift in artistic style. Nevertheless, he remains a truly sincere and talented craftsman whose work marks the time of modern art.

Source: Richard Norton, Medard Klein (1905-2002) Catalogue, 2005.

For more information about Medard P. Klein, visit the artist's page.