Lesser Ury

Hove, Hove Museum of Art, Exhibition of Jewish Art, January 31 to February 28, 1954

Overall very good condition. The corners and the edges are slightly frayed and there is one 0.5 cm. square spot on the left edge which may have been retouched.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Ernest M. Namenyi discusses Lesser Ury’s works from the period he lived in Berlin between 1872 and his death in 1931 and notes: “In his most characteristic works, he was therefore, inspired by the life of the German metropolis, by the characters whom he could observe in its streets and cafés, by the city-scapes of its rainy streets. The rain-swept skies and the passers-by that almost fade into the surrounding mists which rise from the shining sidewalks are features of his favorite topics. Above all, he remains a subtle colorist. Martin Buber wrote of his work: ‘He belonged among those Promethean natures that always seek a new language, capable of expressing everything… He found this language in his use of color. Form expresses none of the ambiguous relationships between things, their effects on each other… A thing does not exist in itself, but everything exists in everything. Form divides, but color unites.’ Like the art of all great French Impressionists, that of Lesser Ury is essentially pantheistic. Though he remains one of the great interpreters of the moods of a great city, Lesser Ury also produced among his most lasting works some landscapes that can vie with those of the most reputed Impressionist Paris masters. Pastels offered him a range in which he achieved great technical brilliance.” (Ernest M. Namenyi, “Jewish Impressionists” in Cecil Roth (ed.), Jewish Art- An Illustrated History, Tel Aviv, 1961, pp. 611-612).