Franz Kline
1910-1962 · American · Abstract Expressionism, Action painting
Biography
Franz Kline, from the coal region of Pennsylvania, trained as an illustrator in Boston and London before settling in New York. Around 1950, inspired by projecting his small brush drawings onto a wall, he developed the large black-and-white abstractions that made him famous: broad, architectural strokes that suggest bridges, rail lines and city structures. In the late 1950s he reintroduced colour. He died at 51, leaving a compact body of work. On the market the iconic black-and-white canvases of 1950 to 1959 are the core and appear rarely, while drawings and studies on telephone-book pages trade regularly in the tens and low hundreds of thousands. The gap between these two tiers makes Kline a selective market at the top.
Recent auction results
| Harleman (1960)Sotheby's, New York | $14.48M | May 14, 2026 | heni.com |
|---|---|---|---|
| Untitled (1959)Phillips, New York | $116K | Feb 28, 2026 | heni.com |
| Untitled (Study for Charcoal, Black and Tan) (1959)Phillips, New York | $89K | May 14, 2025 | heni.com |
Market
- Liquidity: Medium
Museums
- Museum of Modern Art, New York
- Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- Tate Modern, Londra
Sources
- HENI News, record Untitled 1957
- Naharnet/AFP, 40,4 milioni da Christie's
- HENI News, Harleman maggio 2026
- HENI News, vendita Weis novembre 2025
- HENI News, profilo Franz Kline
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