Pierre Leroy - Constantin Kluge collection
Collection
Identifier: GTM-GAMMS154
The Constantin Kluge - Pierre Leroy collection consists of 34 personal, autograph signed letters from Father Leroy to his friend Constantin Kluge, in addition to first-hand background information provided by Kluge on his acquaintance with Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and his circle (especially Pierre Leroy and Claude Riviere). A complete typed transcription of the 34 letters has been graciously provided by Mme. Solange Soulie, a close friend of Pierre Leroy.
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Researchers are solely responsible for determining the copyright status of the materials being used, establishing who the copyright owner is, locating the copyright owner, and obtaining permission for intended use.
Researchers are solely responsible for determining the copyright status of the materials being used, establishing who the copyright owner is, locating the copyright owner, and obtaining permission for intended use.
Constantin Kluge was born in Riga, Latvia, on January 29, 1912, the son of Constantin Kluge, a member of the Russian Army General Staff, and his wife, the former Miss Ignatieva. White movement sympathizers during the Russian Civil War, the family fled the approaching Bolsheviks and emigrated to Manchuria in the winter of 1919.
Kluge began drawing as a student in Shanghai and set off for Paris in June 1931. He studied architecture at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts from 1933 until 1937, receiving his diploma in November of that year. Before returning to Shanghai in 1938, Kluge began painting portraits and cityscapes in Paris.
It was in Shanghai, in 1942, that Kluge met Pierre Leroy while attending a lecture by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. In the spring of 1943, Kluge was invited to paint the portraits of the Vichy Ambassador to China and his wife, during which time he and Teilhard de Chardin became friends. Both also shared a mutual friend, Mrs. Claude Riviere, head of the French radio station in Shanghai.
Kluge and his family moved to Hong Kong in 1946, and returned to France, in 1950, settling in Paris where he found representation in a gallery on Rue Saint Honore . Kluge obtained French citizenship in 1964, and resided in France through the remainder of his life.
In 1961, Kluge received the Silver Medal of the Salon des Artistes Francais and was awarded their Gold Medal the following year.
Kluge was married three times and had one child, Michel. His first wife and child's mother was Tania de Liphart. Kluge's second wife was Mary Starr (née Malcolm), the former wife of AIG founder Neil Starr.
Kluge died on 9 January 2003 in France
For further information on the life of Constantin Kluge, refer to his autobiography, “Constantin Kluge” (Paris, 1987), a copy of which the author gifted to Georgetown University Library.
Additional source: Wikipedia
See Pierre Leroy, S.J. papers, GTMGamms78, for biographical information on Pierre Leroy, S.J.
0.21 Linear Feet (1 Hollinger Slim Document Case)
English
Provenance: Gift of Constantin Kluge, 1993.
Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository