Early Career
Klein was born in El Paso, Texas in 1918, but moved to California where he attended the Art Center School (later renamed Art Center College of Design) in Los Angeles. During the 1930s, he was a prominent member of the California Watercolor Society and displayed his work at various exhibits, most notably the Golden Gate International Exposition of 1939–40.
During World War II, Klein served for the United States Army and produced a variety of illustrations on behalf of the United States Armed Forces. In 1953, the United State Air Force created the Air Force Art Collection, which features several of Klein’s works. The Smithsonian Institution has periodically exhibited a number of these pieces at its museum in Washington D.C.
Following the war, Klein relocated to New York City where he became the preferred illustrator of the Broadway Theater District. He is credited with creating window cards and posters for many of the most popular Broadway productions of the late 1940s and early 1950s, including: Death of a Salesman; Brigadoon; The Most Happy Fella; The Music Man; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; and Alice In Wonderland.
Read more about this topic: David Klein (American Artist)
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