MASTERPIECES FROM THE BEN URI COLLECTION
ARTHUR SEGAL (1875-1944)
1929 Oil on canvas
Signed (lower right): A Segal
HALEN, LA CIOTAT (HARBOUR SCENE)
ARTHUR SEGAL
Arthur Segal’s Halen, La Ciotat (Harbour Scene) (c. 1920s–30s) is a luminous exploration of light, rhythm, and spatial harmony, emblematic of the artist’s evolution from German Expressionism to a more meditative, post-Impressionist idiom Painted during his travels in southern France, the work captures the bustling port
of La Ciotat a Mediterranean harbor town steeped in maritime activity and industrial charm filtered through Segal’s distinct formal vocabulary and philosophical vision In this scene, Segal orchestrates a balance between natural and constructed forms: boats, docks, and buildings interlace with sea and sky in a tightly composed yet atmospheric tableau. The composition is structured with rhythmic repetition and modular geometry, echoing the artist’s involvement with the Expressionist Neue Secession and later his interest in optical theories and Constructivist principles Color is applied in luminous, mosaic-like patches, allowing Segal to articulate both solidity and shimmer, presence and ephemerality Halen, La Ciotat is more than a descriptive rendering it is a contemplative study of how perception organizes experience Through this harbor scene, Segal communicates not only the visual reality of place but also a metaphysical inquiry into the order and beauty underlying everyday life It reflects his enduring belief in the spiritual and transformative potential of art
Painter, art teacher and art therapy pioneer Arthur Segal was born into a Jewish family in Iași, Romania on 23 July 1875 He studied painting in Berlin, Munich, Paris and Italy, settling in Berlin, Germany, in 1904 and becoming a leading artist In the progressive New Berlin Secession His first woodcuts were published in
Herwarth Walden’s Der Sturm (The Storm), a German art and literary magazine, in 1911, followed by an exhibition at Walden’s gallery in 1912 Segal sought refuge in Switzerland during the First World War, exhibiting with the Dada group at the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich During this period he began to make optical experiments in his painting, developing a distinctive type of prismatic Cubism, in which he divided the canvas into eight carefully constructed and balanced schematic fields From 1923-33 he taught in Berlin, rejecting an offer to teach at the New Bauhaus in Dessau in 1925, and was an active member of the progressive Novembergruppe (November Group); among his circle were Kurt Schwitters and George Grosz
Following Hitler's accession to the German Chancellorship in 1933, Segal moved to Palma, Mallorca; a year later, three of his oils were included in the 'Exhibition of German-Jewish Artists' Work: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture' organised at the Parsons Gallery, London by German-Jewish dealer, Carl Braunschweig (later Charles Brunswick) in June 1934, comprising 220 artworks by 86 artists suffering persecution under the Nazi regime In 1936 Segal moved to London and his work became more naturalistic; a self-portrait (Dundee Art Museum), executed in 1939, is darker and more realistic in style than his earlier Cubist works (a second, similar self-portrait, is in Leeds; and another in the Guildhall). In 1940 as a so-called 'enemy alien', Segal was briefly interned on the Isle of Man. Prior to this he had established his own Painting School in London in 1937, which he continued to run with his wife and daughter until his death; his son was the architect Walter Segal Interested in painting as a therapy for mental illness, Arthur Segal corresponded with psychoanalysts and psychiatrists including Sigmund Freud In 1944 his work was included in the Summer Exhibition of Paintings, Sculptures and Drawings by Contemporary Artists at Ben Uri Gallery in London and has subsequently been shown on numerous occasions Arthur Segal died in London, England on 23 June 1944 His work is in UK collections including the Arts Council Collection, Ben Uri Collection, Dundee Art Galleries and Museums Collection, Guildhall Art Gallery, Leeds City Art Gallery and Tate. In 1973 an exhibition of his woodcuts, arranged by Richard Nathanson, was held at Ben Uri Gallery
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
COLLECTION: https://benuri.org/collections/
BURU: https://www.buru.org.uk/
