Park was painted by Paul Klee in 1920.

Where can I see Park?

Park is held by National Gallery of Art.

Can I buy a print of Park?

Museum-quality prints of Park are available made-to-order from Artifact World Gallery.

Artwork

Park

Paul Klee , 1920

Park is an ink print by Paul Klee. It dates from 1920 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.

Inscription: Inscribed:recto: in plate "1914 145" lower left, "Park Klee", signed by the artist, lower right; in image: "Klee", lower right. sheet: "23384" in graphite by unknown hand, "193/300 In the Park" in graphite by unknown hand, lower left verso: "n.n. [illegible] 1961 Paul Klee" in graphite by unknown hand, lower half of sheet
Markings: Marked:verso, stamp in brown ink: "Kunsthalle Mannheim" and stamp in black ink "National Gallery of Art"

About this work

Overview

Created in 1920, Park is a color lithographic facsimile by Paul Klee. The work presents a stylised park scene rendered in flat, vivid hues of green, yellow and red. Figures sit on a bench, turned away from the viewer, surrounded by simplified trees and bushes that are reduced to bold, painted shapes rather than naturalistic forms.

Subject & Meaning

The composition isolates everyday leisure, a bench in a park, and abstracts it through geometric simplification. By omitting depth and shadow, Klee emphasizes the relational qualities of color and form, inviting contemplation of how simple shapes can convey a sense of space and atmosphere without narrative detail.

Technique & Style

Executed as a color lithograph, the piece exploits the medium’s capacity for juxtaposing separate inks without intermixing, allowing distinct color blocks to sit side by side. Klee’s approach merges influences from expressionism, cubism and surrealism, employing flat planes and a restrained palette to explore the dynamics of color interaction.

History & Provenance

Paul Klee, a Swiss‑born artist who worked primarily in Germany, produced Park during a period when his theoretical writings on form and design were being compiled into the Paul Klee Notebooks. These texts, alongside his visual experiments, contributed to the development of modern art theory. The lithograph remains a representative example of his early 1920s print output.