Kleis' Kunsthandel was a commercial art gallery, frame shop and gilder's business in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark. It developed into one of the leading art dealers in the city under the management of Vakdemar Kleis, its owner from 1878 until 1918. It was based at

Vesterbrogade Vesterbrogade () is the main shopping street of the Vesterbro district of Copenhagen, Denmark. The 1.5 km long street runs from the City Hall Square in the east to Pile Allé in Frederiksberg in the west where it turns into Roskildevej. O ...

58 from 1878 until 1972. It hosted the first

Den Frie Udstilling Den Frie Udstilling ('The Free Exhibition') is a Danish artists' association, founded in 1891 by artists in protest against the admission requirements for the Kunsthal Charlottenborg. Modeled on the Salon des Refusés, it is Denmark's oldest ass ...

(Free Exhibition) in 1891. Another branch was located at Østergade 4. It closed in 1988.

History

Origins

The company was founded in 1831 when Jeppe Jensen Kleis (1804-1882) established a glazier's business and frame shop in Vesterbro. Little is known about his early life. It is believed that he came from

Lemvig Lemvig, with a population of 6,816 (2022),BY3: Po ...

. His htpimds for assuming the name Kleis(s) are unknown. He was married to Ane Mathea Severin (1817-1905) Four of their eight children survived to adulthood. They resided at Udenbus Vester Quarter outside Copenhagen's Western City Gate at the time of the 1840 and 1845 census-

Valdemar Kleis, 18681918

In 1868, Jeppe Jensen Kleis passed the company to his son, Valdemar Kleis (1845-1918), under whose management it would later develop into one of the leading art dealers in the city. Valdemar Kleis expanded the activities with a gilding business, specializing in the gilding of artistically carved frames. The company was from 1878 based at Vesterbrogade 58. The building was identical to the adjacent Wegener House at No. 60. Kleis would later also open a branch at Østergade 4 in the city centre. He was the owner of both buildings. Kleis' Kunsthandel hosted the first

- It opened on 27 March 1891. had his debut as an artist at an exhibition in Kleis' Kunsthandel in 1893. In 1893, Kleis arranged a large exhibition with young French artists with assistance from

Mogens Ballin Mogens Ballin (20 March 1871, Copenhagen – 27 January 1914, Hellerup) was a Danish artist, one of a group of painters who gathered in the Breton village of Pont-Aven School, Pont-Aven. He later became a notable silversmith designing jewelry and ...

. The artists represented on the exhibition included Vuillard, Bonnard, Sérusier, Banson, Bernard and Grafikeren Valloton. Lleis had to guarantee DKK 1,000 worth of sales and also paid for the fraight. The exhibition was no commercial succes, partly because the works that were sent very small to the extent that

Ludvig Find Ludvig is a Scandinavian given name, the equivalent of English ''Lewis'' or ''Louis''. People with the name include: * Ludvig Almqvist, Swedish politician * Ludvig Aubert, Norwegian Minister of Justice * Ludvig Bødtcher, Danish lyric poet * Lud ...

described it as #almost like a stamp collection".. The Vesterbrogade building was at some point expanded with a Mansard roof with a three-bay gabled wall dormer. Kleis resided with his family in the apartment on the first floor of his Besterbro building at the time of the 1880 and 1885 census. He later bought a villa at Strandmøllen in Springforbi north of Copenhagen. He also owned a villa in

Vedbæk Vedbæk is a wealthy suburban neighbourhood on the coast north of Copenhagen, Denmark. It belongs to Rudersdal Municipality and has merged with the town of Hørsholm to the north. The area has been inhabited for at least 7,000 years, as evidenced ...

and later Villa Strandbakken on Nordre Strandvej in

Rungsted Rungsted, also known as ''Rungsted Kyst'' is an affluent suburban neighborhood in Hørsholm Municipality on the Øresund coast north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The center of Hørsholm is located two kilometers west of Rungsted. At the Øresund coast i ...

. His daughter Ekba married on 4 September 1909 the Nørrebro-based furniture maker Rudolph Rasmussen.

Georg Kleis

The firm was after Valdemar Kleis' death in 1918 handed down to his son Georg Kleis (1893-1980). Another son, sculptor Hjalmar Kleis (1883-1965), managed a branch on

Strøget Strøget () is a pedestrian, car free shopping area in Copenhagen, Denmark. This popular tourist attraction in the centre of town is one of the longest pedestrian shopping streets in Europe at 1.1 km. Located at the centre of the old city o ...

. In 1918, Kleis' Kunsthandel played host to

Herwarth Walden Herwarth Walden (actual name Georg Lewin; 16 September 1879, in Berlin – 31 October 1941, in Saratov, Russia) was a German expressionist artist and art expert in many disciplines. He is broadly acknowledged as one of the most important discove ...

's ''Der Sturm. International Kunst. Ekspressionister og kubister''. He owned Sjælsøvang north of Copenhagen. He was an enthusiastic fruit grower and beekeeper. He also owned a house in

Hornbæk Hornbæk () is a seaside resort town on the north coast of the Danish island of Sjælland, facing the Øresund which separates Denmark from Sweden. It is part of Helsingør Municipality and is located 12 km north-west of Helsingør, and is ...

Closure

The branch on Vesterbrogade closed after Georg Kleis' death in 1972. Its former building was destroyed by fire on 17 October 1973 and was later reconstructed to a different design. The Strøget branch was at some point ceded to Vagn Aage Axelsen (1919-96). It specialized in classical art.

References

External links

Svend Hammershøi exhibition
{{Vesterbro/Kongens Enghave Shops in Copenhagen Defunct companies of Denmark Danish companies established in 1831 da:Kleis' Kunsthandel