SIDNEY "Sonny" KLEIN

Sidney Klein, artist, teacher, father, grandfather, uncle, brother and good friend died on Saturday February 8, 2015 at 89 years of age. A native New Yorker, born in the Bronx, Sidney spent his summers in the tiny village of Cessy les Bois, a charming corner of Burgundy that has served as muse for his art and provided him with an enduring and appreciative following. His childhood was spent in a tight-knit Jewish neighborhood near Bronx Park called "The Coops" which fostered an environment of political activism and community. He was the oldest son, and last surviving child, of the late Samuel and Rose Klein, immigrants from Poland and Austria, and brother to the late Julius Klein, Helen Klein, Edith Willick, Sylvia Davidowitz and Francis Venefsky . At eighteen, he was drafted to serve the US Army in World War II for two years. Obtaining many jobs, the one that stuck out was Morse code operator. Even later in his life, he was known to re-learn the code just to keep his mind active. Sidney studied art at Ohio State University, Cooper Union, and the Art Student's League, but eventually completed his Bachelor's degree at Hunter College. In 1961, he married Deanne Arkus, a musicologist and public relations professional, and together, they traveled Europe studying art and music. While in France, Deanne completed her studies in music history and obtained a doctorate from the Sorbonne in Paris, while Sidney evolved his expressionist painting and drawing. They eventually purchased an old farmhouse in the center of France for get-aways from their apartment in Paris. In 1972, they had a son, David. Tragically, in 1975, Deanne passed. Sidney and his son, David, continued to spend summers in France, traveling around Europe enjoying the culture and making life-long friendships. They had the wonderfully unique bond that only a single parent and an only child could have had. They were a true team, travel partners and best friends. And the apple did not fall far from the tree. Sidney had a long career as an artist. His first one-man show took place at Gallery 84 in New York in the mid-1960's. In a review of that show, Art News described his portraits as "forceful character studies" and observed that his "delicate watercolors capture the elusive lights of the European landscape." Primarily a landscape painter, Sidney's line drawings and watercolors show a keen sense of place and mood, a sort of psychological marksmanship, that bring to vivid life the light and warmth of Cessy and its environs. Sidney worked steadily, (producing some of his best work in fact), and his summer sojourns in France involved at least one exhibit of his latest pieces, along with numerous studio tours to those who made the trek up the winding lane to his stone farmhouse. (You could have just stopped in the pub in Cessy and asked for "l'Americain" and they'd point you the way). His images have made him a favorite among the locals, and who can blame them? With quiet mastery of line and color, his work captures the small moments in their small towns, immortalizing a way of life that is fading as France moves inexorably into the 21st century. After one of his French exhibits, the celebrated artist Andre Dunoyer de Segonzac wrote of Sidney's paintings, "They reveal a strictly personal art, created outside of the ephemeral formulas of the moment; work of quality that will resist the test of time." Sidney later worked as an art teacher at a number of schools throughout New York City, and finally tenured, and eventually retired from, Brooklyn Technical High School. When he was not in France, Sidney lived in New York. Often, one might find him having a bagel in Central Park, walking the halls of a museum, volunteering at the Whitney museum, sitting at an off-broadway show, taking part in an orchestral concert – but most of all appreciating a humorous or philosophical moment with his close friends and family. He enjoyed frequently being "Uncle Sonny" with his many nieces and nephews. He also savored his trips up to Massachusetts to visit with his son, David, his daughter-in-law, Sherri, and two grandsons, Alex and Nicholas. He was always talking about how proud he was of his grandchildren, and how they echoed "Grampa Sonny's" passions with musical recitals and artwork. Sidney, above all, will be remembered by his humor and wonderful zest for life. He had the unique talent of seeing the beauty in any situation. Where one might see a dying plant, he saw curled-up leaves resting on the earth; where one might see a rainy day, he would watch the rainwater liberally flow down the street to its destiny. Since his death, letters of condolence have streamed in from throughout the US, France, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. His passionate soul and energy could be felt across many lands, languages and cultures. He will be missed. A memorial service will be held on March 29, 2015 in Manhattan. For more details, please contact David Klein.