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1899, 'For my friend Frans D.' (label on back)
The artist signed his work with Bern-Klene but his real, full name was Bernardus Henricus Klene. He was born in Amsterdam in 1870. He studied in Antwerp and (later) Brussels, after which he continued his painting life in Germany, Italy and Corsica. In 1900 Klene arrived in Paris, and eventually he ended up permanently in Veneux les Sablons.
Klene was a close friend of Camille Pissarro and many other well-known Impressionists, with whom he exhibited together at the Salon d'Automne and the Salon des Independents. In 1904 he won the prestigious Médaille d'Or of the city of Paris.
The first retrospective of Klene's work took place in October 1966 at the Kaplan Gallery in London.