Items Similar to Modern Composition #2
Video Loading
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 7
Rolph ScarlettModern Composition #2c. 1935
c. 1935
About the Item
Oil on artist board
Collection of Samuel Esses, then by descent in the family
It is possible that this is an early modernist stage design
Never afraid of trying new styles, curious and opinionated, constantly engaged with the world around him, Rolph Scarlett more than once proved to be at the artistic zeitgeist in a career that stretched for more than 75 years.
Born in 1889, Scarlett had his first retrospective by 1928. He subscribed fully to the modernist credo. Interviewed at the time, he said: "If a futuristic painting brings the casual gallery patron to an abrupt stop and forces him to spend five minutes in front of the painting, then the ends of modernism have been served,"
A major proponent of non-objective painting, Scarlett's career and artistic philosophy is closely linked with the early history of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. His work, along with that of Kandinsky, Klee, and German artist Rudolph Bauer formed the core of the Guggenheim's collection--the "Art of Tomorrow." Indeed, the original collection of the Guggenheim contained 66 works by Scarlett. Hila von Rebay, the first director of the Guggenheim, called him "one of the greatest artists of our time."
Exposed very early on to the work of Paul Klee through a chance meeting in Europe with the artist himself, Scarlett took up abstraction with a fervor that never diminished during his long and impressive career. To create something that had never existed before: this was Scarlett's great cause. He would become known for his geometrics, his surrealist works, Indian Field paintings, drip works and AbEx works. In his abstraction, Scarlett avoided any reference to the outside world and believed that nonobjective painting was an act, in his words, of "pure creation."
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). 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.
In 1949 he had a very well received solo show at the Jacques Seligmann Gallery, reviewed very favorably in The New York Times: "The impression made by these paintings is one of originality and strength." He was also included in a juried show "American Painting Today" at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1950 and in the Whitney Annual of 1951 and 1952. The curator for the Whitney show in fact bypassed a selection of Scarlett's careful geometrics in favor of a new "lyrical" drip painting-one which he describes as having had "a helluva good time" making.
Personality disputes after the death of Solomon Guggenheim sent Scarlett to a self-imposed exile in Woodstock, NY, where he would remain the rest of his life.
Scarlett's work can be found in the collections of the Guggenheim, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the de Young Museum, the Montreal Museum and the Smithsonian.'
- Creator:Rolph Scarlett (1891-1984, American)
- Creation Year:c. 1935
- Dimensions:Height: 11 in (27.94 cm)Width: 14.75 in (37.47 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:Beautifully framed.
- Gallery Location:Lawrence, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1497213632352
About the Seller
5.0
Vetted Seller
These experienced sellers undergo a comprehensive evaluation by our team of in-house experts.
Established in 2011
1stDibs seller since 2021
22 sales on 1stDibs
Typical response time: 3 hours
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Lawrence, NY
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
More From This SellerView All
- Untitled Non-Objective AbstractionBy Rolph ScarlettLocated in Lawrence, NYOil on board Never afraid of trying new styles, curious and opinionated, constantly engaged with the world around him, Rolph Scarlett more than once proved to be at the artistic zeit...Category
1940s Modern Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil
- Modernist Composition #7By Rolph ScarlettLocated in Lawrence, NYOil on artist board Collection of Samuel Esses, then by descent in the family Never afraid of trying new styles, curious and opinionated, constantly engaged with the world around hi...Category
1930s Modern Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil
- Dark Harbor, MaineBy Aristodimos KaldisLocated in Lawrence, NYArt critic Hilton Kramer called the Greek-American artist Aristodimos Kaldi's paintings "beautifully executed landscapes in a lyric mode. . . all delicacy and nuance and romance. . . " Kaldis was a New York School painter...Category
1960s American Modern Landscape Paintings
MaterialsOil
- Fall FieldsBy David HayesLocated in Lawrence, NYGouache on paper signed en verso Throughout his sixty-year artistic career, David Hayes created sculptural forms abstracted from organic forms encountered in daily life. He first st...Category
1980s American Modern Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsGouache
- Untitled (Connecticut Landscape)By David HayesLocated in Lawrence, NYGouache on paper signed en verso Throughout his sixty-year artistic career, David Hayes created sculptural forms abstracted from organic forms encountered in daily life. He first st...Category
1990s American Modern Landscape Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsGouache
- Study for Sculpture #2By David HayesLocated in Lawrence, NYGouache on paper signed en verso Throughout his sixty-year artistic career, David Hayes created sculptural forms abstracted from organic forms encountered in daily life. He first st...Category
1980s American Modern Abstract Drawings and Watercolors
MaterialsGouache
You May Also Like
- Modern Abstract Oil PaintingLocated in Rio Vista, CADramatic abstract oil on canvas painting by Gladys Regier-Vaughan (American 1923-1987). Vaughan was a New York stage director who started painting in 1970. Signed and dated verso.Category
20th Century Modern Abstract Paintings
MaterialsCanvas, Oil
- Swirling WomanBy FPA Francis Pavy ArtistLocated in Lafayette, LAThis small work depicts a Blue woman's figure with Red lipstick attired in yellow situated against a swirling purple, Green, black, and silver back ground. this work is framed. S...Category
1980s American Modern Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil
- Swamp StormBy FPA Francis Pavy ArtistLocated in Lafayette, LAThis small work is Entitled "swamp storm". It Measures 12" x 12" , and is oil on Cotton Duck canvas Signed on the reverse> in Charcoal on the reverse 1t reads : ©Francis x Pavy...Category
Early 2000s Modern Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil
- MUDDY MOON FIREBy FPA Francis Pavy ArtistLocated in Lafayette, LAThis painting is entitled money Moonfire. It depicts a campfire that has moons in the flames. In the background there is swirls depicting the rushing water of the Mississippi. Signe...Category
1990s Modern Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil
- ACCORDIONIST WITH NIGHT FLOCKBy FPA Francis Pavy ArtistLocated in Lafayette, LAThis work depicts a central figure with a blue face. A Turquoise violin-type shape is in the foreground. The figure is flanked by two areas of multi-colored briars that are Burning. ...Category
1990s American Modern Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil
- Sunset portraitsBy FPA Francis Pavy ArtistLocated in Lafayette, LAThis small painting is entitled Sunset Portraits. It's an oil painting on canvas mounted on wood. The painting depicts a man's silhouette formed by fl...Category
2010s American Modern Abstract Paintings
MaterialsOil