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Lot Essay
Joseph Kleitsch had a relatively short but very distinguished career. Born in Hungary, he gained his primary artistic instruction in Budapest, Paris and Munich where he concentrated on figural works. From there he traveled to Mexico City, where he excelled in portrait painting and gained a considerable reputation as a fine portrait painter. His work caught the eye of President and Mrs. Francisco Madero and he was commissioned to paint their presidential portraits. Kleitsch made several visits to California, but settled in Chicago for a time and continued his artistic training at the Chicago Art Institute, where other well know California Impressionist also studied including: Alson Clark, Edgar Payne, Hanson Puthuff, George Gardner Symons and William Wendt. Moving from Chicago to Laguna Beach in January 1920, Kleitsch was freed from the cold winters where much time was spent indoors.
In Laguna Beach, the young artist community was beginning to blossom as exceptionally talented artists created paintings which would come to be known as a purely 'California Plein-Air' style. Southern California's warm climate and brilliant sun suited Kleitsch and he was taken with the Bohemian atmosphere where he relished in the exchange of artistic ideas with his fellow artists. In 1923, Kleitsch and F. Grayson Sayre founded the Painters and Sculptors Club in Los Angeles. "The objective was to form a democratic working club for men only which shall provide a studio with models where members may draw or paint in any medium they wish, without interference or instruction. The atmosphere will be one of absolute freedom." (The Los Angeles Times, 15 July 1923) This artistic freedom was essential to Kleitsch, who was a restless artist, constantly pushing his own artistic boundaries.
Kleitsch was a passionate artist whose canvases are a virtual kaleidoscope of color applied with rapid, bravura brushstrokes and soaked with the California sun. He painted many views of Old Laguna, "[i]n the morning, noon and evening light, he captured its distinctive shore line, its opalescent sea, its distant hills and original structures that lined its dusty mud roads." (Patricia Trenton, California Light 1900-1930, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, California, 1990, p. 152)
Park Avenue, Old Laguna is an exceptional example of Kleitsch's exploration and interpretation of Old Laguna and where his interest in modern art becomes more evident. He captures a casual day in Old Laguna, with figures walking along the street and cars parked along Park Avenue near a gas station with an old style pump. Here again, Kleitsch applies brilliant color to drench the entire scene with light and shadow and uses a strong composition divided vertically by Park Avenue itself. Kleitsch displays subtle details in the sunlight in the trees, cars and building to the left. But the right of the canvas, deep in shadow, is where Kleitsch works with a purely modernist approach. The fine details are lost in the strong blocks of cool color which form the buildings the trees and hillside beyond. It is clear in Park Avenue, Old Laguna that Kleitsch was moving forward with his art - breaking down his academic boundaries and experimenting with a higher level of artistic expression.
In Laguna Beach, the young artist community was beginning to blossom as exceptionally talented artists created paintings which would come to be known as a purely 'California Plein-Air' style. Southern California's warm climate and brilliant sun suited Kleitsch and he was taken with the Bohemian atmosphere where he relished in the exchange of artistic ideas with his fellow artists. In 1923, Kleitsch and F. Grayson Sayre founded the Painters and Sculptors Club in Los Angeles. "The objective was to form a democratic working club for men only which shall provide a studio with models where members may draw or paint in any medium they wish, without interference or instruction. The atmosphere will be one of absolute freedom." (The Los Angeles Times, 15 July 1923) This artistic freedom was essential to Kleitsch, who was a restless artist, constantly pushing his own artistic boundaries.
Kleitsch was a passionate artist whose canvases are a virtual kaleidoscope of color applied with rapid, bravura brushstrokes and soaked with the California sun. He painted many views of Old Laguna, "[i]n the morning, noon and evening light, he captured its distinctive shore line, its opalescent sea, its distant hills and original structures that lined its dusty mud roads." (Patricia Trenton, California Light 1900-1930, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, California, 1990, p. 152)
Park Avenue, Old Laguna is an exceptional example of Kleitsch's exploration and interpretation of Old Laguna and where his interest in modern art becomes more evident. He captures a casual day in Old Laguna, with figures walking along the street and cars parked along Park Avenue near a gas station with an old style pump. Here again, Kleitsch applies brilliant color to drench the entire scene with light and shadow and uses a strong composition divided vertically by Park Avenue itself. Kleitsch displays subtle details in the sunlight in the trees, cars and building to the left. But the right of the canvas, deep in shadow, is where Kleitsch works with a purely modernist approach. The fine details are lost in the strong blocks of cool color which form the buildings the trees and hillside beyond. It is clear in Park Avenue, Old Laguna that Kleitsch was moving forward with his art - breaking down his academic boundaries and experimenting with a higher level of artistic expression.