Klaus Juergen-Dieter Kertess was born in Manhattan, New York on July 16, 1940. He received a bachelor's degree in art history in 1962 and a master's degree in art history in 1964 from Yale University. After graduation, he took a job at the advertising agency Interpublic. In 1966, he opened the Bykert Gallery with financial backing from a college friend Jeffrey Byers. After leaving the gallery in 1975, he became a curator and writer.
He was a curator at the Parrish Art Museum from 1983 to 1989. He then became adjunct curator of drawing at the Whitney Museum of American Art from 1989 to 1995. He also curated exhibitions at the Drawing Center in New York and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Detroit. He wrote monographs on Brice Marden, Jane Freilicher and Joan Mitchell. His books include a collection of criticism entitled Seen, Written: Selected Essays and a collection of short stories entitled South Brooklyn Casket Company. He died on October 8, 2016 at the age of 76.
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