Hewing faithfully to the Renaissance and French academic traditions, Michael Klein is among the vanguard of contemporary painters working to rekindle classical art. The North Dakota native attended a string of ateliers and workshops in the Midwest before finishing his studies at the Water Street Atelier in New York City in 2005, training his eye on painting still lifes and the figure from life. Although he devotes most of his attention to floral still lifes, Klein is equally proficient at painting portraits and landscapes. He snapped up the grand prize in 2016 at the Portrait Society of America’s International Portrait Competition for NYC Entrepreneur.

Today Klein lives in New Salem, MA, where he works on studio paintings and pursues a new passion for painting en plein air.