Yemenite Scholars. Large Etching. Signed by Lilien in pencil lower right.

Ephraim Moses Lilien was the first Jewish artist to absorb himself within 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, 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 indeed the painter of the Redemption. It is his passage into the Hall of Muses.” (Hazefirah, no. 63).