Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 9

Rolph Scarlett
Untitled (Abstraction)

c. 1958

$5,500
£4,115.21
€4,776.03
CA$7,658.07
A$8,613.63
CHF 4,467.70
MX$104,489.64
NOK 56,647.83
SEK 53,308.78
DKK 35,630.53
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

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, New York (1982). In addition to appearing in several important group shows at the Museum of Non-Objective Painting and the Guggenheim Museum, Scarlett’s work was also presented at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1950); Whitney Museum of American Art (1951); and Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh (now Carnegie Museum of Art, 1983). In his later years, Scarlett moved to upstate New York and continued to paint and design jewelry. Scarlett died on August 7, 1984, near Woodstock, New York. Courtesy Guggenheim Museum
  • Creator:
    Rolph Scarlett (1891-1984, American)
  • Creation Year:
    c. 1958
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 21.75 in (55.25 cm)Width: 30 in (76.2 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Fairlawn, OH
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: FA90371stDibs: LU14011371912

More From This Seller

View All
Untitled Abstraction
By John von Wicht
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Untitled Abstrraction Gouache, watercolor and pigments on paper, c. 1960 Signed lower right in pencil (see photo) Image: 17 x 22 inches Sheet: 25 1/4 x 29 3/4 inches Frame: 25 1/4 x ...
Category

1960s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

untitled
By Virginia Dehn
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Untitled Acrylic on paper, c. 1975 Signed by the artist in ink lower right (see photo) An early Modernist Abstraction, created shortly after the death of her husband, Adolf Dehn in 1968. Condition: Excellent Archival framing Image size: 18 x 24 Provenance: Estate of the artist Dehn Heirs Virginia Dehn From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Virginia Dehn Virginia Dehn in her studio in Santa Fe Virginia Dehn (née Engleman) (October 26, 1922 – July 28, 2005) was an American painter and printmaker. Her work was known for its interpretation of natural themes in almost abstract forms. She exhibited in shows and galleries throughout the U.S. Her paintings are included in many public collections. Life Dehn was born in Nevada, Missouri on October 26, 1922.] Raised in Hamden, Connecticut, she studied at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri before moving to New York City. She met the artist Adolf Dehn while working at the Art Students League. They married in November 1947. The two artists worked side by side for many years, part of a group of artists who influenced the history of 20th century American art. Their Chelsea brownstone was a place where artists, writers, and intellectuals often gathered. Early career Virginia Dehn studied art at Stephens College in Missouri before continuing her art education at the Traphagen School of Design, and, later, the Art Students League, both located in New York City. In the mid-1940s while working at the Associated American Artists gallery, she met lithographer and watercolorist Adolf Dehn. Adolf was older than Virginia, and he already enjoyed a successful career as an artist. The two were married in 1947 in a private ceremony at Virginia's parents house in Wallingford, Connecticut. Virginia and Adolf Dehn The Dehns lived in a Chelsea brownstone on West 21st Street where they worked side by side. They often hosted gatherings of other influential artists and intellectuals of the 20th century. Among their closest friends were sculptor Federico Castellón and his wife Hilda; writer Sidney Alexander and his wife Frances; artists Sally and Milton Avery; Ferol and Bill Smith, also an artist; and Lily and Georges Schreiber, an artist and writer. Bob Steed and his wife Gittel, an anthropologist, were also good friends of the Dehns. According to friend Gretchen Marple Pracht, "Virginia was a glamorous and sophisticated hostess who welcomed visitors to their home and always invited a diverse crowd of guests..." Despite their active social life, the two were disciplined artists, working at their easels nearly daily and taking Saturdays to visit galleries and view new work. The Dehns made annual trips to France to work on lithographs at the Atelier Desjobert in Paris. Virginia used a bamboo pen to draw directly on the stone for her lithographs, which often depicted trees or still lifes. The Dehns' other travels included visits to Key West, Colorado, Mexico, and countries such as Greece, Haiti, Afghanistan, and India. Dehn's style of art differend greatly from that of her husband, though the two sometimes exhibited together. A friend of the couple remarked, "Adolf paints landscapes; Virginia paints inscapes." Virginia Dehn generally painted an interior vision based on her feelings for a subject, rather than a literal rendition of it.] Many of her paintings consist of several layers, with earlier layers showing through. She found inspiration in the Abstract Expressionism movement that dominated the New York and Paris art scenes in the 1950s. Some of her favorite artists included Adolf Gottileb, Rothko, William Baziotes, Pomodoro, and Antonio Tapies. Dehn most often worked with bold, vibrant colors in large formats. Her subjects were not literal, but intuitive. She learned new techniques of lithography from her husband Adolf, and did her own prints. Texture was very important to her in her work. Her art was influenced by a variety of sources. In the late 1960s she came across a book that included photographs of organic patterns of life as revealed under a microscope. These images inspired her to change the direction of some of her paintings. Other influences on Dehn's art came from ancient and traditional arts of various cultures throughout the world, including Persian miniatures, illuminated manuscripts, Dutch still life painting, Asian art, ancient Egyptian artifacts...
Category

20th Century Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Acrylic

Untitled
By Ray H. French
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Signed and dated "1962" by the artist lower right. Mixed media on heavy paper. Done for a show to fund a trip to Italy.
Category

1960s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Mixed Media

Untitled Abstraction
By Peter Marks
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Unsigned as per usual Enamel paint and ink on tracing paper Provenance: Estate of the Artist Peter Marks (1935 -2010) Peter Marks was born in New York City on January 18, 1935....
Category

Early 2000s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

India Ink

untitled
By Virginia Dehn
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Unsigned Authenticated verso by the artist's nephew, Andrew Lowe Provenance: Estate of the Artist
Category

Mid-20th Century Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pastel

Untitled
By Dorothy Heller
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Untitled Watercolor on paper, 1990 Signed lower left corner Provenance: Gift of the Artist to one of hr patrons Distinguished Midwest Private Collection Conditi...
Category

1990s Abstract Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Watercolor

You May Also Like

Untitled 9 (Abstract painting)
By Claude Tétot
Located in London, GB
Acrylic and oil on paper - Unframed Claude Tétot is a French abstract artist whose work expresses harmony in disharmony by exploring the enigmatic unity that can exist between seemi...
Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Oil, Acrylic

Untitled 9 (Abstract painting)
By Claude Tétot
Located in London, GB
Acrylic and oil on paper - Unframed Claude Tétot is a French abstract artist whose work expresses harmony in disharmony by exploring the enigmatic unity that can exist between seemi...
Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Oil, Acrylic

Untitled 9 (Abstract painting)
By Claude Tétot
Located in London, GB
Untitled 9 (Abstract painting) Acrylic and oil on paper - Unframed Claude Tétot is a French abstract artist whose work expresses harmony in disharmony by exploring the enigmatic u...
Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Oil, Acrylic

Untitled 9 (Abstract painting)
By Claude Tétot
Located in London, GB
Untitled 9 (Abstract painting) Acrylic and oil on paper - Unframed Claude Tétot is a French abstract artist whose work expresses harmony in disharmony ...
Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Oil, Acrylic

Untitled 9 (Abstract painting)
By Claude Tétot
Located in London, GB
Untitled 9 (Abstract painting) Acrylic and oil on paper - Unframed Claude Tétot is a French abstract artist whose work expresses harmony in disharmony ...
Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Oil, Acrylic

Untitled 8 (Abstract painting)
By Claude Tétot
Located in London, GB
Acrylic and oil on paper. Unframed. Claude Tétot is a French abstract artist whose work expresses harmony in disharmony by exploring the enigmatic unity that can exist between seem...
Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Oil, Acrylic