Joseph Kleitsch was one of Laguna Beach’s most notable early residents and painters. He was born in Banad, Hungary in 1885, and as a young child began art studies in Budapest, Munich, and Paris.

Excelling at portraiture he was commissioned to paint royalty and dignitaries of his time.  Kleitsch emigrated to Chicago, a destination for many eastern European immigrants at the turn of the twentieth century, and there began studies at the Art Institute.

He moved permanently to California in 1920 and settled in Laguna Beach where he established the Kleitsch Academy.  He exhibited regularly with the Stendahl Galleries of Los Angeles, becoming a favorite of the art scene of Southern California.  He made painting trips to San Francisco, Carmel, France and Mexico.

It was in France that he created an important body of work that was sent to Stendahl in the late 1920's.  Initiating his career as an impressionist, Kleitsch eventually pushed his art in the direction of the moderns.  His tendencies to explore newer techniques made him one of the most innovative California Impressionists.

He died untimely in Mexico on a painting excursion in 1931.

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