Name Richard Klein | ||
Richard Klein (1890–1967) was a German artist, known for his patriotic work as a medallist from the start of World War I in 1914, and mainly for his work as a favoured artist of the Nazi regime. Klein was director of the Munich School of Applied Arts and was one of Hitler's favourite painters.
Klein was one of the artists exhibited at the "Great German Art Exhibition" held at the Haus der Kunst in Munich in 1937, meant as a contrast to the modern art condemned by the Nazis as Entartete Kunst. Klein's work at the exhibition included plaques contributed from Adolf Hitler's private collection. The poster for the exhibition, "The Awakening", was designed by Klein and also used as the front cover for the Nazi art review Art in the Third Reich.
Klein was also the designer of Nazi decorations including the Sudetenland Medal, Anschluss Medal and Memel Medal, collectively known as the German Occupation Medals, plus the most-awarded of all of the Third Reich medals: the War Merit Medal.