Claire Falkenstein was born on July 22, 1908, in Coos Bay, Oregon. Her first twelve years were spent living amid the natural beauty of the Oregon coast; her mature works reflect this organic influence. Her father managed a lumber mill and her mother provided an environment conducive to artistic expression. Claire attended high school in the Oakland-Berkeley, California area after her family moved there. She attended the University of California at Berkeley without initially intending to study art. However, by her junior year it became clear to her that art was her passion. She graduated in 1930 with a major in art and minors in anthropology and philosophy. She had her first one-woman exhibition, at a San Francisco gallery, even before graduation. Her art education continued in the early 1930s at Mills College, where she took a master class with Alexander Archipenko, and met Laszlo Moholy-Nagy.
