Frank Kleinholz Oil On Board Modern Portrait Painting

Striking up close oil on board portrait of a young person with a bouquet by listed American artist Frank Kleinholz. Signed lower right.

Frank Kleinholz was born in 1901 in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a blind father and hard-working mother who supported the family by running a delicatessen. At an early age Kleinholz learned the value of self-reliance and hard work as he aided in the support of his family by selling newspapers and running errands for neighbors and local businesses. This work ethic helped him later in life, and at the age of 23, he was admitted to the New York Bar, having attended Fordham Law School.

Although Kleinholz practiced insurance law until 1945, he began painting and print-making seriously in the mid 1930's under the tutelage of well known contemporary artists such as Yasuo Kuniyoshi and Sol Wilson. He quickly achieved a high level of artistic respect and in 1941 his painting Abstractionists was one of 302 works chosen from a field of nearly 5000 for inclusion in the exhibition "Directions in American Painting" at the Carnegie Institute.

Kleinholz's career quickly soared, and between 1941 and the 1980's he participated in many group exhibitions in highly respected venues (e.g. Philips Gallery, Carnegie Institute, National Academy of Design, Metropolitan Museum Art, Chicago Art Institute, Brooklyn Museum, Pennsylvania Fine Arts, Butler Institute, Moscow Museum Fine Art, Montclair Art Museum, Worcester Art Institute, Har Zion Temple, Library of Congress, and Jewish Center).

In addition, he was invited to present one-man shows at both prestigious public and private galleries (e.g. Philips Gallery Washington D.C., American Artists Group Chicago IL , Palmer House Galleries Chicago IL, Park Gallery Detroit MI, Galerie de Ville Beverly Hills CA, ACA Galleries New York NY, Maxwell Galleries San Francisco CA, Akron Art Institute Akron OH, Four Winds Gallery Kalamazoo MI, Galerie 99 Miami Beach FL, Colby College Waterville ME). Kleinholz died sometime during the 1980's.

Although Kleinholz's style is unique, his work is firmly based in a variety of 20th century artistic movements including Expressionism, American Social Realism, and the School of Paris. His artistic output was diverse including: paintings, black and white prints in a variety of media, hand-colored serigraphs, and full-color printed serigraphs.

Thematically, Kleinholz's work focuses on interpretations of contemporary urban life as experienced by families. Human interactions and relationships obviously were of special interest to Kleinholz, in particular those of adults and children. Many of his best works focus on these bonds. Nonetheless, the influence of the Depression and World Wars were strongly evident in the somber expressions, low key palette, and muted tones of some of his early work (i.e. 1940's to 1950). These intensely personal paintings and prints (e.g. Keep Off the Grass, Day's End, Show Me That You Love Me), display the alienation and despair reminiscent of the works of the leaders of German Expressionism (e.g., Kathe Kollewitz and Eric Heckel).

Notes: No damage noted.

Consistent with age and use.

11&1/4" x 13&1/4"

18%

Don Barese, Dan Kingsbury | (203) 281-7438 | ctestatefinds@gmail.com

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Cheshire, CT 06410

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