Stephen Kline (born 1943) is an American contemporary artist who works primarily in acrylics and ink.

Early life

Born in 1943 in Des Moines, Iowa, Kline spent his early years growing up with his parents and older sister Martha in a small house on the east side of Des Moines. As a junior in high school, he designed the senior class yearbook cover for East Des Moines High School before graduating the following year and attending Drake University, where he studied art under Stan Hess and Leonard Good. After college, he accepted a position with former LOOK Magazine in their art department.

Beginning career

In 1964, Kline moved to Omaha, Nebraska where his fine art was first accepted in a museum show: the Tenth Midwest Biennial at the Joslyn Museum, Omaha, Nebraska. Commercially, he moved quickly from the

Omaha World Herald The ''Omaha World-Herald'' is a daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, the primary newspaper of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It was locally owned from its founding in 1885 until 2020, when it was sold to the newspaper ch ...

art department through a succession of advertising agencies, landing a job with Bozell & Jacobs Advertising. In 1973, he and his writer wife Kris Limberg Kline began Kline Photography Studios, which produced both fine arts and commercial photography. During this period, Stephen was one of the leading pioneers of panoramic photography in multimedia. Meanwhile, he used every spare moment to pursue his fine arts career. In 1982, they moved their family to Westfield, NJ. Kline was soon accepted as a gallery artist at Foxworth Gallery on Madison Ave. in Manhattan, where his work made headlines when his provocative painting Madonna and Child caused street demonstrations in 1985, It was in this period when he began combining his painting and photography into one medium. ''Portrait of a Painter'' was chosen for the 1987 New Jersey Arts Annual at the Jersey City Museum, and his photo/art piece of

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was printed in Communicator's Journal.

Art drawn from words

Two years after relocating to Ellenton, FL in 1991, Kline painted his firs
''Lines of Language''
painting, signing his name over and over. Titled ''3795 Signatures'', the abstract was chosen for the 1994 Florida National,

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

Museum of Fine Arts, Tallahassee, Florida. It was also in 1994 that Kline designed th
Florida State of the Arts license plate
In 1999, Kline created his first realistic drawing using his new Lines of Language technique to create a
image of Santa
out of the words ''Season's Greetings''. He had his drawing printed as a lithograph, added additional words with gold and silver applied pen-and-ink to individualize each piece, and sent them out to family, friends, business associates and patrons. The next year, when he noticed how many recipients had framed the art, he decided to use his Lines of Language technique to create his first dog lithograph.Kris Kline, "$98,000 Bulldog," Dog & Kennel (magazine), August 2001, p. 46. Throughout the next several years, Kline has drawn over 125 breeds.

Gallery

File:Stephen Kline panorama of Central Park.jpg, This multiple image photograph was made in Central Park, New York City. The viewer will see the same person several times throughout the print. File:Bulldog art drawn from words by Kline.jpg, Kline's art written from the wor

over and over. File:2795 Kline Signatures.jpg, Kline's painting 3795 Signatures. File:Stephen_Kline_public_art_painting_The_Solicitor.jpg, PUBLIC ART: Kline's painting the Solicitor hangs in the office of the Chief Judge of Hillsborough County, Florida, purchased by Hillsborough County for their permanent collectio

File:Stephen_Kline_public_art_painting_"Red,_White_and_Blue_Stars_and_Stripes".jpg, PUBLIC ART: Kline's painting,"Red, White, and Blue Stars and Stripes," is on public view in Hillsborough County Center, purchased for the county's permanent collection.

References

External links

"Interview with Florida Artist Stephen Kline"
Fame Booking July 18, 2019
"Florida Arts License Plate"
Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, Jan. 7, 2013

E-JUNKIE.INFO, Jan. 7, 2013
"Stephen Kline"
Martha Stewart Presents American Made Awards, Jan. 7, 2013
"Stephen Kline - Unique Artist"
CANINE COLLECTABLES COURIER, retrieved Jan. 7, 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kline, Stephen 1943 births Dog artists American photographers Artists from Des Moines, Iowa American contemporary painters 20th-century American painters American male painters American draughtsmen Living people 20th-century American male artists