Ink and gouache on light cardboard
USA, 1950s
Franz Kline (1910-1962) - American painter and a leading exponent of the Abstract Expressionism in the United States
Signed in graphite with ‘KLINE’ lower left
Ink brush drawing in the same style on the reverse
Sheet size: 26.3 x 19.2 cm
Good condition
Certificate of Abraham Stein, Art Consultant, New York, dated 03/03/1967
Provenance: Emmett Curtis Hart, lawyer and later member of the Congress of the Democrats as well as Senator from New Mexico (with proof of purchase dated 12/04/1953), in family property until 2013; then private collection, Germany
Typical abstract study sketch by Franz Kline in a dynamic style of painting. The current highest auction for a similar work by Kline is circa €188,000

Influenced by the ‘Action Painting’, Franz Kline’s (1910-1962) works are characterized by a dynamic style of painting. A little color spectrum and often spontaneous image compositions determine Kline’s abstract works from the 1950s. The present sheet shows two broad and rough black brushstrokes on a white scumbled underground. The brushstroke features the characteristic thinning to the edges and becomes the main content of the image.

The back shows another painting of Kline in the same style. The work is signed with ‘KLINE’ to the lower left. It is overall in good condition with a tear (3 cm) and a partly restored blemish to the upper edge. There are crease marks to the lower right and left. The sheet dimensions are 26.3 x 19.2 cm. The work comes with a certificate stated by Abraham Stein, Art Consultant from New York, and dated 03/03/1967.

The sheet has a gapless provenance: It was purchased in 1953 by Emmett Curtis Hart, a lawyer and later member of the Congress of the Democrats and Senator from New Mexico (with proof of purchase, dated 04/12/1953), and remained in family property until 2013. It is now in a German private collection.

Franz Kline (1910-1962)

The US-American painter Franz Kline studied at the School of Fine and Applied Arts and the University of Boston in the 1930s. In 1937, he began studying at the Heatherly School of Fine Arts in London. In 1938, he went to New York and set up his own studio. In the 1950s, he taught at various institutions, the Black Mountain College, the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and the Philadelphia Museum School of Art. Franz Kline exhibited at the documenta several times. Many of his works are on display in major museum collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the MoMA in New York, the Kunstmuseum in Basel and the Tate Gallery in London.

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