Lesser Ury (1861 - 1931) Germany Pastel on Paper Measure 7 1/4"in H x 13 1/4"in W and 12 3/4"in H x 18 1/2"in W with frame Biography: Lesser Ury was born in 1861 in Birnbaum near Posen. After his father's death, the Jewish family moved to Berlin in 1873. Ury started a business training after secondary school, but quit after a year for attending the Art Academy in Düsseldorf. Beginning in 1882, he continued his studies at the Académie Royale in Brussels, and under Jules Joseph Lefèbvre in Paris starting in 1883. Until 1986 he trained at the academies in Stuttgart, Karlsruhe and Munich. When Fritz Gurlitt exhibited Ury’s first solo exhibitions in 1889/1890, it was no success. Lesser Ury traveled a lot in the following years. In 1914, Lovis Corinth convinced him to join the Berlin Secession, a group of artists, which was regarded as ‘avant-garde’ at that time and which made him an honorary member in 1921. He gained mainly notoriety through exhibitions at the galleries of Paul Cassirer in 1916 and Heinrich Thannhauser in 1917. Until his death in 1931, the artist created an extensive body of work, comprising oil paintings, pastels and prints, influenced by Impressionism. (cko) Lesser Ury is recorded mainly for his impressionist Berlin city views, streets at night, rain depictions and café house scenes. This atmospheric style of painting can also be found in his landscapes.