Born in Montreal in 1950, Irene Klar received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Alberta in 1977. 

Native people, their textiles and pattern decoration serve as her inspiration. In 1993 Klar was commissioned to paint images for the Amnesty International calendar (Canada) and the images were used in the US Amnesty International pocket calendar.  Her watercolors have graced the covers of several books, including a children's book published in 2008.