Henri-Emile Lessore

Henri-Emile Lessore was an artist active during the mid-to-late 19th century, with a documented period of production spanning the years 1850 through 1880. Lessore focused primarily on graphic arts, creating prints that captured scenes of environment and daily life.

The artist’s verifiable output, represented in North American institutions, centers on landscape and genre subjects. Lessore explored themes of rural settings and waterways, evidenced by major compositions such as Street Corner in a Village and Woman Standing Among the Trees. Aquatic motifs are prominent, appearing in titles including River Scene with Rowers and variations focusing on vessels, such as River Scene with Boat (Large plate) and the related River Scene with Boat (Small plate). These compositions underscore an interest in reproducible images of natural and semi-urban environments.

Five of these Henri-Emile Lessore prints are preserved in museum collections, confirming the artist’s legacy within 19th-century printmaking. His work is held today by the Art Institute of Chicago, where the five known works are maintained as museum-quality examples of graphic art. As historical materials, such works often fall into the public domain, allowing for widespread access to high-quality prints for scholarly research and appreciation.