Constantin Kluge

Private collection, New York

Constantin Kluge was born in 1912 to well-to-do parents living in Riga (modern day Latvia), then an important port city in the Russian Empire. His father was a graduate of Riga’s Polytechnical Institute serving in the Imperial Nicholas Military Academy and his mother was a professor of literature who, in her youth, served as tutor to the children of Grand Duke Michael, the younger brother of tsar Nicholas II.

As the Russian Revolution spread, Kluge’s family was forced to move further east, first to Harbin, Manchuria, in 1920, where Kluge learned to speak Mandarin, and then to Shanghai in 1925, where the young émigré would graduate from the French Municipal Highschool and was an active member of the Shanghai Art Club. Opposed to their son becoming a painter as they believed art was not a dependable career for Constantin to pursue, Kluge left for Paris to study architecture. After graduating in 1937 with the title of French Government Architect from the École des Beaux-Arts, Kluge stayed in Paris for several months and found a reliable subject in the streets Paris, especially those of the Latin quarter.

After returning to China, where he worked as an architect, the young artist decided to exhibit his paintings following his friend’s recommendation and, with the success he encountered, decided that painting, his first love, could afford him a livelihood. Finally, in 1950, Kluge decided to emigrate to his beloved Paris, earning an award at the official Salon the following year. His work was gaining considerable attention and more awards followed in the years to come, including a gold medal at the Salon in 1962.

In the 1960s, Kluge's work caught the eye of American art dealer Wally Findlay. Findlay started representing Kluge and was the first to bring his Parisian paintings to the American public, exhibiting them in his galleries in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Kluge continued to achieve great success in his artistic career showing his works across Europe and the United States, leaving behind him more than a thousand views of Paris. In 1990, the artist was awarded the Légion d’Honneur.

The Russian artist’s fascination with Paris is reflected in the present lot with its cheerful depiction of the quais and the Seine, so often found is the artist’s subtle views of the city, always incorporating architectural elements, a reminder of his background as an architect.