Kline, Franz

Kline, Franz, 1910–62, American painter, b. Wilkes-Barre, Pa. He studied (1937–38) in England, then settled in New York City. From the early 1950s, Kline exhibited large canvases of dynamically painted black-and-white grids. His works often recall Chinese calligraphy but he himself denied Asian influence. His subsequent works, sometimes with notes of bright color, established his reputation as an important figure in the movement known as abstract expressionism.

Bibliography

See memoir by F. Dawson (1967); H. Gaugh, The Vital Gesture: Franz Kline (1985).

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Kline, Franz

New York, N.Y., oil on canvas by Franz Kline, 1953; in the …

(credit: © Albright-Knox Art Gallery/Corbis)

(born May 23, 1910, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., U.S.—died May 13, 1962, New York, N.Y.) U.S. painter. He studied art in London before settling in New York City. He became one of the leading artists of the Abstract Expressionist movement and was known for his use of inexpensive commercial paints and large housepainter's brushes to build graphic networks of rough bars of black paint on white backgrounds. He achieved a sense of majesty and power in such large-scale works as Mahoning (1956). In the late 1950s he introduced colour into his paintings.

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Kline, Franz (Josef) (1910–62) painter; born in Wilkes Barre, Pa. After attending Boston University (1931–35), he traveled to London and studied at Heatherly's Art School (1937–38). Upon his return to America he settled in New York City. After progressing through a variety of styles, he became famous by 1950 for his black-and-white paintings. His abstract expressionist approach, utilizing a furiously energetic line, as seen in Wanamaker Block (1955), became instantly recognizable throughout the art world.