Rolph Scarlett

“Floating Forms”

1947

Original abstract oil painting on heavy card stock by the American artist Martin Rosenthal. Signed lower left and dated 1960. Condition is very good. Slight bow to board. Nicely pro...

Original oil paint on heavy archival paper abstract by the American artist, Martin Rosenthal. Bold, vibrant colors. Signed lower right by the artist and dated 1964. Condition is goo...

Original oil paint on heavy archival paper abstract by the American artist, Martin Rosenthal. Bold, vibrant colors. Signed lower right by the artist and dated 1965. Condition is ver...

Original watercolor on archival paper by the California artist, Edward Darrell Crisp. Signed in pencil lower right margin. Dated in pencil lower left m...

Untitled (Abstraction) Ink on textured paper, c. 1958 Signed lower right "Scarlett" (see photo) Condition: Excellent Archival framing with OP3 Acrylic Sheet size: 21 3/4 x 30 inches Frame size: 28 1/2 x 36 1/2 inches Note: A rare mid to late 1950s example of the artist's abstract expressionist style. Provenance: estate of the artist Private Collection, Hudson River Valley, New York Rolph Scarlett B. 1889, GUELPH, ONTARIO; D. 1984, WOODSTOCK, NEW YORK Born on June 13, 1889 in Guelph, Canada, and into an artistic family, Rolph Scarlett spent his teenage years as an apprentice in his uncle’s jewelry firm and briefly studied at the Art Students League, New York. While working in the jewelry industry, Scarlett found time to paint and design theatrical sets in his free time, including one for the 1928 world premiere of Eugene O’Neill’s drama Lazarus Laughed (1926). In 1923, while on a business trip to Switzerland, Scarlett had met the artist Paul Klee and soon after abandoned his figurative painting style in favor of an abstract language that suggested more universal, cosmic truths. In 1937, after permanently settling in New York, Scarlett became acquainted with the artist and curator Hilla Rebay, the first director of the Museum of Non-Objective Painting (renamed the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in 1952). Rebay provided Scarlett with a Guggenheim Foundation scholarship to paint full-time and obtained several of his paintings for the museum’s collection. From 1940 to 1946, Scarlett served as the museum’s chief lecturer, giving Sunday afternoon talks on art. Through Rebay, Scarlett became acquainted with the nonobjective works of Rudolf Bauer and Vasily Kandinsky and further refined his abstract style. Works from this era such as Yellow Bar (1942) are defined by overlapping geometric planes of bright, primary colors set against mute backgrounds. Scarlett avoided any reference to the outside world and believed that nonobjective painting was an act, in his words, of “pure creation.” During his lifetime, solo shows of his work were held at the Jacques Seligmann Gallery, New York (1949); Sioux City Art Center, Iowa (1951); and Washburn Gallery...

Born in Ontario, Canada, Rolph Scarlett left home at age eighteen for New York City, making that city his home for long periods during his lifetime. While beginning his career as an ...

Mixed media Signed lower right original work framed 83 x 63 x 3 cm

Born in Ontario, Canada, Rolph Scarlett left home at age eighteen for New York City, making that city his home for long periods during his lifetime. While beginning his career as an ...