Franz Kline (1910-1962)

 
American painter, Franz Kline, is considered to be one of the most original Abstract Expressionists. However, his earlier works were representational, primarily consisting of urban landscapes. Kline turned to abstraction in the late 1940’s inspired by the work of Willem de Kooning; particularly some of his drawings seen enlarged on a projector. This transformation quickly developed into a new and original style consisting of converting brush strokes from smaller drawings into large-scale abstract paintings using bold black strokes on a white background. The style was somewhat reminiscent of oriental calligraphy, but with the hard treatment of industrial and house paint and brushes. Towards the end of his life Kline incorporated color into some of his works but continued to work primarily in black and white.