Self-portrait

E.M. LILIEN (1874-1925) The following fifteen lots represent etchings by Ephraim Moses Lilien consigned by a Private New York Collector of the Arts, who acquired all 15 artworks from Lilien’s sister in the early 1960’s. Each etching is very finely framed, each frame differs from the next, reflecting the tone and mood of the overall image. None examined out of frame. Each etching with monogram in the plate. Note: all measurments relate to image size. Ephraim Moses Lilien was the first artist to absorb himself in the nascent Zionist Movement. He was active in early Zionist Congresses stressing the need to foster Jewish culture. He maintained a particularly close relationship with Theodor Herzl and their collaboration resulted in some of the most enduring images of early Zionism (viz. Herzl on the balcony of the Drei Könige Hotel, Basel 1901). Together with Boris Schatz and others, Lilien aided in establishing the Bezalel School of Art in Jerusalem. He visited Palestine four times, between 1906 and 1918 - the last occasion as a lieutenant in the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I. With Aubrey Beardsley among his influences, Lilien’s etchings show a crisp elegant line and a strong contrast between black and white areas. Nahum Sokolow wrote of Lilien’s art: “Ephraim Moses Lilien has brought forth light from darkness; from the servitude of matter he has set us onto redemption. He is the painter of Redemption...It is his passage into the hall of Muses.” ( Hazefirah, no. 63, 1902) References: TAMC: Tel Aviv Museum Catalogue, Painting With Light: The Photographic Aspect in the Work of E.M. Lilien (1991) Verzeichnis: Verzeichnis der Radierungrn von E.M. Lilien (Berlin, c.1924). A catalogue of E.M. Lilien’s etchings. A brief list of etching number, title, date and price