Lesser Ury Auction Prices and Value Guide

Lesser Ury auction prices are tracked in Appraisily's artist market index, with source-directory coverage of 1,096 records. Use this page to review sold-lot activity, market context, and valuation factors before requesting a formal appraisal.

Lesser Ury auction prices: quick answer

Lesser Ury auction prices depend on medium, size, date, condition, provenance, edition details, attribution confidence, and recent comparable auction sales.

Artist
Lesser Ury
Source records
1,096
Market update
2026-02-16

Artist context

About Lesser Ury

Lesser Ury (1861–1931) was a German Impressionist painter and printmaker celebrated for his atmospheric depictions of Berlin street scenes, cafés, and landscapes. Born in Birnbaum, Prussia (now Międzychód, Poland), Ury trained in Düsseldorf, Brussels, Paris, and Munich before settling in Berlin, where he established his mature practice. Associated early in his career with the Düsseldorf school of painting, he developed a personal Impressionist style distinguished by luminous color and sensitive rendering of light—particularly in urban nocturnes and interior scenes. Ury exhibited with the Berlin Secession and gained recognition for plein-air landscapes, floral still lifes, and evocative city views. While sometimes overshadowed by contemporaries in the Berlin Secession circle, his contribution to German Impressionism has been reassessed in recent decades. With over a thousand recorded lots at auction, Ury's work is a regular presence in the European art market.

ImpressionismDüsseldorf school of paintingoil paintingpastelprintmakingBerlin street scenes and urban nocturnescafé and restaurant interiorslandscapesfloral still lifes

Common works and media

Common work types include oil paintings of Berlin street scenes and nocturnes, café and restaurant interiors, plein-air landscapes (particularly of the German countryside and Mediterranean views), floral still lifes, pastel drawings, and prints. Ury worked across oil, pastel, watercolor, and printmaking media. Recurring subjects include urban life in Berlin, seasonal landscapes, flower arrangements, and atmospheric interior scenes with figures.

Market and appraisal context

Lesser Ury has a deep and active auction footprint, with 422 recorded lots spanning from 1992 to late 2025 and 271 lots with realized prices. His work trades regularly across major European and international houses—Christie's, Sotheby's, Grisebach, Bonhams, and Lempertz chief among them—as well as specialist German venues such as Karl & Faber, Hampel Fine Art Auctions, and Auktionshaus am Grunewald. Price dispersion is wide: the recorded minimum is €50 (typically prints or small works on paper) and the maximum is €674,500, with a median of €6,325 and an interquartile range of €800–€34,375. Liquidity is stable at 27 priced lots in each of the trailing and prior 12-month windows, indicating consistent market throughput rather than speculative spikes. Oil paintings of Berlin street scenes, nocturnes, and café interiors sit at the top of the price distribution, while pastels, prints, and smaller landscapes form the more accessible tier. The broad house roster and steady lot flow make Ury one of the more liquid German Impressionists in the secondary market.

Auction categories and appraisal factors

Common auction categories

  • oil painting
  • pastel
  • printmaking

Value drivers

  1. Medium: oil paintings generally command higher prices than pastels, watercolors, or prints
  2. Subject: Berlin street scenes and nocturnes are among the most sought-after subjects
  3. Provenance and exhibition history strengthen value
  4. Condition, dimensions, and signature presence affect appraisal outcome
  5. Medium: oil paintings command the highest prices, followed by pastels, then prints and works on paper. The P75 price of €34,375 is typically associated with oils.
  6. Subject: Berlin street scenes, nocturnes, and café interiors are the most sought-after subjects and anchor the upper price tier. Landscapes (Märkischer See, Tiergarten views) also perform well.

Appraisal caveats

  • Attribution should be confirmed for unsigned or undocumented works, as Ury's style overlaps with other German Impressionists of the period.
  • The Getty ULAN record (500004839) was unavailable at research time; identity data is grounded in LoC, VIAF, Wikidata, and RKD authority files.
  • No auction-house-specific provenance or realized-price data was available in the source pack; collectors should consult live auction records for current market guidance.
  • Price data covers 271 priced lots out of 422 total; approximately 36% of lots lack a realized price (withdrawn, unsold, or not yet reported), which can skew the lower end of the distribution.

Evidence

Sources for artist context

This source-grounded artist context passed Appraisily's promotion threshold: high confidence, strong sources.

Source-grounded artist Markdown

Data basis

This page is built from Appraisily's public auction market index. Private transactions, incomplete sale feeds, and attribution changes may not be fully represented.

LLM-readable Markdown summary for Lesser Ury

LLM summary index · LLM full index

Artist value FAQ

How much is Lesser Ury worth?

Comparable public auction sales are the best starting point, but final value depends on the specific artwork, condition, size, medium, provenance, and attribution confidence.

Can Appraisily value my Lesser Ury artwork?

Yes. Appraisily can review photos, dimensions, signatures, condition, provenance, and comparable market data to prepare a current valuation.