A convenient synthetic method has been developed for the synthesis of 3-aryl-6-(quinolin-2-yl)picolinic acids having a cyclopentene fragment condensed to the pyridine ring. In addition, based on these new ligands neutral lanthanide complexes were obtained, and their photophysical properties were studied. It was observed that newly obtained quinoline-based chelates exhibited a significant bathochromic shift of their absorption maxima compared to the previously described chelates based on 5-aryl-2,2′-bipyridines.