Portrait of Frederick Blumenstein 1945

Franz Kline's "Portrait of Frederick Blumenstein" (1945) is a striking ink drawing on paper, showcasing the artist's unique style of gestural abstraction. Kline, known for his bold black and white paintings, employs a similar approach in this work, using bold lines and energetic strokes to capture the essence of his subject. The sitter, Frederick Blumenstein, a fellow artist and friend of Kline, is depicted in a simplified, almost schematic manner, highlighting the artist's focus on form and movement. The drawing's energy and immediacy are characteristic of Kline's mature style, which emerged in the mid-1950s and became a defining feature of the Abstract Expressionist movement.