# David Klein artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/david-klein/
Profile generated: 2026-08-19T08:02:48.773Z
Quality: medium confidence, adequate sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1918-02-23
- Death date: 2005-12-09
- Nationality: American
- Common media: Posters and graphic illustration, Works on paper and prints, Paintings, sculpture, mixed media, and editions appear in matched auction categories

## About David Klein

David Klein (1918–2005) was an American artist and illustrator whose career connected commercial art, graphic design, and popular visual culture. He produced imagery for advertising, Broadway theatrical productions, Hollywood films, the United States Army, and corporate clients. Collectors most often encounter his name in connection with the dynamic travel images developed for Trans World Airlines during the 1950s and 1960s. His poster work used bold graphic composition to communicate destinations, movement, and modern travel, while his broader output included illustration and promotional design. Auction records may therefore bring together original works, works on paper, printed posters, and editions under the same artist name. When identifying a David Klein work, the subject, intended commercial use, printing or publication history, signature, and condition can help distinguish an original design from a later or authorized reproduction.

## Common works and media

Commonly encountered David Klein material includes travel and advertising posters, graphic designs, works on paper, prints, editions, and original illustrations. The collected market record also includes paintings, sculpture, mixed media, and decorative-art categories, although those classifications should be checked against the individual lot. TWA-related travel imagery and designs connected to theatrical or corporate promotion are especially relevant identification contexts. Buyers should determine whether a work is an original artwork, a published poster, a limited edition, or a later reproduction, and should compare the physical object with its stated medium, dimensions, printing details, signature, and provenance.

## Market and appraisal context

David Klein auction results should be compared by object type rather than treated as one uniform market. A travel poster, original illustration, painting, print, or edition may have a very different value profile. Appraisal commonly considers medium, dimensions, date, condition, restoration, surface quality, signature, inscriptions, edition information, provenance, exhibition or catalogue references, and attribution confidence. Subject matter and rarity can also matter, particularly for recognizable travel or advertising imagery. Appraisily’s collected records show a broad set of categories and public results, but auction data is incomplete and may reflect different fee conventions. Public comparables are useful evidence, not a substitute for examining the object and its documentation.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine artist identity research with public auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5236064
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/103039022/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500464678
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/3134
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Klein_(American_artist)
- Wikipedia: https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%AF_%D9%83%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%8A%D9%86_(%D8%B1%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%85)
- Appraisily: https://appraisily.com/artist/david-klein/