Fred Klein

Fred Klein (8 April 1898 – 25 April 1990) was a Dutch painter who spent much of his life in France.

Born Friedrich Franz Albert Klein in Bandung, Indonesia, he was known in the Netherlands under the name of Frits Klein and in France as Fred Klein. He lived and worked in France beginning in 1920. His style was somewhat akin to Impressionism. A figurative painter of landscapes, he had exhibitions starting in 1930. He is known for his frequent depiction of horses and dreamy beach scenes. Dutch critics admired his work as did French ones, who often compared him to Odilon Redon. "[Klein] starts from a dream of colors from which the motif gradually takes shape. Notwithstanding he still reverts to reality with this, albeit a dreamed up reality," one review concluded.^[1]

Klein's work was included in the 1939 exhibition and sale Onze Kunst van Heden (Our Art of Today) at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.^[2]

On his 80th birthday, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam held a retrospective of his work.^[3] In recent years, there has been renewed interest in his paintings, leading to a spike in prices.^[4]

Klein and his first wife, painter Marie Raymond, were the parents of celebrated painter Yves Klein. His second wife was the English painter Ursula Bardsley.