Israeli Artist YOSSI STERN ORIGINAL Vintage Watercolor

Yossi Stern (1923-1992) was a Holocaust survivor from Hungary who went on to become one of Israel's foremost artists. Known as  "the Painter of Jerusalem," he studied art at the Bezalel Arts Academy and later became a favorite art teacher there. He illustrated many books and newspapers and many walls in Israel have a Yossi Stern drawing. Stern was the subject of a 1974 book of his drawings (pictured) and we've included a photo of the artist as well.

This large painting depicts a pair of elderly Jewish men joyously dancing during a Torah celebration, the hills of Jerusalem in the background. All the components are drawn in outline in black, with the predominant watercolors in a deep grey blue, pale pink and taupe on a cream background. There is Stern's handwritten personal dedication at the bottom that reads "To Vivian and Herb Weiser - Love and Shalom! Yossi Stern 1984 ". The painting is also artist signed in black to the right of the dedication. Vivian and Herb Weiser were long time Florida residents; Herb was a cartoonist among other talents and may have met Yossi Stern through an art connection.

We bought this watercolor unframed and we took advantage of the temporary lack of glass to take our photos that show it unframed. Our framer used all archival materials, with a wide taupe mat and a narrow black wood frame (3/4 inch wide and 7/8 inch high) that nicely complement Stern's artwork. The heavy art paper measures 20 by 24 inches; the sight size is 15 by 19 inches and the overall framed size is 21 1/4 by 25 1/2 inches. The piece weighs just over 5 pounds and has a coated wire for hanging that includes the picture hanger, also. The painting is in excellent condition, with no tears, discolorations or other wear. The mat and frame are, of course, new and the artwork ready to hang, sure to delight and increase in value in the coming years while decorating your wall.

PYH 4773