Richard Klein (1890–1967)[1] was a German artist, known 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.[2]
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.[3] 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.[4]
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.