Skip to main content

Rolph Scarlett Art

American, 1889-1984

Rolph Scarlett was a painter of geometric abstraction during the American avant-garde movement of the 1930s and 1940s. Scarlett was born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada in 1889, he left Canada at the age of 18 to go to New York City and returned to Canada during the years of World War I. However, by 1924, Scarlett had established New York City as his home. While he was beginning his career as an abstract painter, he was designing stage scenery for George Bernard Shaw's play, Man and Superman and the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. In 1939, while creating the Museum of Non-Objective Painting (later the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum), Director Hilla Rebay began to take an interest in Scarlett's work. By 1940, he had become the new museum's chief lecturer. By 1953, the Guggenheim owned nearly 60 of his paintings and monoprints. Scarlett later became a resident of the Woodstock art colony for more than 25 years and showed his work in the Woodstock exhibits.

to
1
3
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
4
1
2
1
4
3
1
4
4
3
2
1
28
70
10
9
8
4
4
Artist: Rolph Scarlett
Dealer: Arthur T. Kalaher Fine Art
“Jester”
By Rolph Scarlett
Located in Southampton, NY
Early mixed media painting composed of watercolor, gouache and oil pastel on card stock of a jester by the Canadian/American artist, Rolph Scarlett. Signed by the artist lower right ...
Category

1920s American Modern Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Oil Pastel, Watercolor, Gouache

“Floating Forms”
By Rolph Scarlett
Located in Southampton, NY
Mid century modern gouache on paper by the well known Canadian/American artist, Rolph Scarlett. Signed and dated in blue pen lower left, 1947. Condition: Good. Framed in thin black matte painted frame with acid free white mat. Not examined out of frame. Overall framed 14.25 by 17 inches. ROLPH SCARLETT (1889-1984) Rolph Scarlett was born 1889 in Guelph, Ontario. His long life as an artist began in his teens as a jewelry designer and fabricator. At the age of fourteen he began to design jewelry professionally, a craft which he continued off and on for the rest of his life. His desire to learn more about art took him to New York in 1908, when American artists were just beginning to experience strong influences from major modern European artists of the day such as Cezanne and Picasso. Throughout his long career he produced, oil paintings, many works on paper, unique sculptured jewelry, modernist style industrial and furniture designs. Currently there are over 800 of his designs at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Design Collection. In 1928 he moved to Hollywood, California where he became a very successful stage and set designer. In the mid-1930s he met the director of the Museum of Non-objective Art in New York ( Hilla Rebay). He became her close associate and advisor in organizing and running the museum. He was Chief lecturer at the museum (1939 -1946) teaching the new modernism and abstraction to the new generation of artists in the New York art community. Hilla Rebay would introduce him as “Rolph Scarlett, my great find”. So considerable was her enthusiasm for Scarlett, that she and Solomon Guggenheim bought over sixty of his paintings and monotypes for the museum. After Kandinsky and Bauer, there was more of Scarlett’s work in the collection than any other artists. He participated in many of the museum exhibitions and galleries and was regularly exhibiting his work in Los Angeles, the San Francisco Art Museum, the Art Institute in Chicago, the Modern Age Gallery in N.Y., the Metropolitan Museum, the Whitney Museum and the Museum of Modern Art. He studied for a time at the Art Student League with William Merrit...
Category

1940s Modern Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Paper, Gouache

"Orange Face"
By Rolph Scarlett
Located in Southampton, NY
Circa 1945 Signed lower left Sight size 12 x 10.5 in Overall size in newly matted one inch wide black frame 25.5 x 21.5 in
Category

1940s Modern Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Gouache, Paper

“Abstract Figures, 1954”
By Rolph Scarlett
Located in Southampton, NY
Original mixed media painting composed of acrylic paint, watercolor with traces of aerosol spray paint on vinyl by the Canadian/American artist, Rolph Scarlett. Signed by the artist lower right and dated 1954. Condition is very good. The artwork is housed in a contemporary matt black frame 25.5 by 21.5 inches overall. Provenance: Eric Firestone...
Category

1950s American Modern Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Acrylic, Watercolor

Related Items
Abstract Work on Paper Mid-Century Modernism Greek American Gouache Drawing
By Jean Xceron
Located in New York, NY
Abstract Work on Paper Mid-Century Modernism Greek American Gouache Drawing. A modernist artist who emigrated to America from Greece in 1904, when he was fourteen years old, Jean Xceron is described as having a reputation as an artist that has mysteriously fallen into obscurity---especially since he was reportedly quite prominent during his lifetime. However, a partial explanation of that omission is the fact that many of his papers and early records have been lost. He was a painter of biomorphic abstractions and did collages, which were influenced by Dadaism. Xceron was active in New York City when modernism was gaining influence. Of him during this period, it was written that his artistic role was "a vital link between what is commonly termed as the first-generation (the Stieglitz group, the Synchromists, etc.) and second-generation, the American Abstract Artists, the Transcendental Painting...
Category

1940s American Modern Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Paper, Gouache

Clinton Hill, (Nude #5), 1951, drawing, figure/abstraction
By Clinton Hill
Located in New York, NY
Clinton Hill (1922-2003), created quintessential mid-century images, but figures are unusual in his work. This is from a very early period. From 1949 to 1951 Hill attended the Brookl...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Gouache

Clinton Hill, (Nude #8), 1952, drawing, figure/abstraction
By Clinton Hill
Located in New York, NY
Clinton Hill (1922-2003), created quintessential mid-century images, but figures are unusual in his work. This is from a very early period. In 1951 Hill studied at the Academie de la...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Gouache

'Cubist Still Life', Italian School (circa 1940s)
Located in London, GB
'Cubist Still Life', gouache on paper, from the Italian School of artists (circa 1940s). Surely this very attractive piece was inspired by Juan Gris (1887-1927) and Georges Braque's ...
Category

1940s Modern Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Paper, Gouache

'Abstracted Figure', Sydney, Museum of Modern Art in Sao Paulo, Brazil
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower right, 'Bonorat' and painted circa 1980 An elegant, modernist figural painting and early work by this Sydney-based Mexican artist who studied at the National School of Fine Arts in Mexico City (1982-84) and, subsequently, at the Museum of Modern Art in Sao Paulo, Brazil (1986). STUDIES 1982-1984 Painting and Drawing Ateliers – National School of Fine Arts, Mexico City 1985-1986 Artistic Experimentation – Carrillo Hill Museum, Mexico City 1986 Metal Engraving – Museum of Modern Art Sao Paulo Brazil SOLO EXHIBITIONS 1986 Art Gallery of Santos Municipal Cultural Centre, Sao Paulo, Brazil 1988 Art Gallery of Porto Alegre Municipal centre, R.S. Brazil 1991 Gallery Casa de la Cultura, Morelia Mexico 1994 The Beatty Gallery, Sydney 1996 The Beatty Gallery, Sydney 1996 Michael Burke Gallery, Brisbane 1997 The Beatty Gallery, Sydney 2019 ‘Golden Trinity’, Thienny Lee Gallery, Sydney 2019 ‘Continuous Thread, GAFFA Gallery, Sydney GROUP EXHIBITIONS 1985 Mail Art Network Kyoto City Museum, Kyoto Japan 1987 Banespa Cultural Centre, Sao Paulo Brazil 1988 IV National Contest of Fine Arts, Cubatao Brazil 1992 NCA Gallery, Sydney 1994 The Beatty Gallery, Sydney 1994/5/6 Selected for the “Fisher’s Ghost” Art...
Category

1980s Modern Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Paper, Ink, Watercolor, Gouache

R.E.M. - Murmur (Grammy, Album Art, Iconic, Rock and Roll, Pop, Legendary)
By Kerry Smith
Located in Kansas City, MO
Kerry Smith R.E.M. - Murmur Mixed Media on Crescent board Year: 2022 Size: 21x20in Signed, dated by hand COA provided Ref.: 924802-1633 *Black frame with a mirror-gloss finish avail...
Category

2010s American Modern Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Mixed Media, Acrylic, Gouache, Board

'Fish, Dove and Musical Instrument', Italian School (circa 1940s)
Located in London, GB
'Fish, Dove and Musical Instrument', gouache on paper, from the Italian School of artists (circa 1940s). Surely this very attractive piece was inspired by Georges Braque (1882-1963) ...
Category

1940s Modern Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Paper, Gouache

1950s "Red Sun" Mid Century Abstract Art Students League NYC
By Donald Stacy
Located in Arp, TX
Donald Stacy "Red Sun" c.1950s Gouache and oil pastel on paper 13.75" x 17" unframed Unsigned Came from artist's estate *Custom framing available for additional charge. Please expect framing time between 3-5 weeks. Donald Stacy (1925-2008) New Jersey Studied: Newark School of Fine Art The Art Students League...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Paper, Oil Pastel, Gouache

Large Hudson River Figurative Modernist Landscape Oil Painting Edward Avedisian
By Edward Avedisian
Located in Surfside, FL
Edward Avedisian ( 1936-2007 ) Gouache or oil on paper, 3 guys around a car, hand signed in paint lower left, Measures 30"x 22.5" Edward Avedisian (June 15, 1936, Lowell, Massachusetts – August 17, 2007, Philmont, New York) was an American abstract painter who came into prominence during the 1960s. His work was initially associated with Color field painting and in the late 1960s with Lyrical Abstraction and Abstract Expressionism. He studied art at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. By the late 1950s he moved to New York City. Between 1958 and 1963 Avedisian had six solo shows in New York. In 1958 he initially showed at the Hansa Gallery, then he had three shows at the Tibor de Nagy Gallery and in 1962 and 1963 at the Robert Elkon Gallery. He continued to show at the Robert Elkon Gallery almost every year until 1975. During the 1960s his work was broadly visible in the contemporary art world. He joined the dynamic art scene in Greenwich Village, frequenting the Cedar Tavern on Tenth Street, associating with the critic Clement Greenberg, and joining a new generation of abstract artists, such as Darby Bannard, Kenneth Noland, Jules Olitski, and Larry Poons. Avedisian was among the leading figures to emerge in the New York art world during the 1960s. An artist who mixed the hot colors of Pop Art with the cool, more analytical qualities of Color Field painting, he was instrumental in the exploration of new abstract methods to examine the primacy of optical experience. One of his paintings was appeared on the cover of Artforum, in 1969, his work was included in the 1965 Op Art The Responsive Eye exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art and in four annuals at the Whitney Museum of American Art. His paintings were widely sought after by collectors and acquired by major museums in New York and elsewhere. He has been exhibited in prominent galleries, such as the Anita Shapolsky Gallery and the Berry Campbell Gallery in New York City. Edward Avedisian was known for his brightly colored, boldly composed canvases that combined Minimalism's rigor, Pop art exuberance and the saturated tones of Color Field painting. Roberta Smith of the NYT writes of Avedesian: "Edward Avedisian helped establish the hotly colored, but emotionally cool, abstract painting that succeeded Abstract Expressionism in the early 1960s. This young luminary harnessed elements of minimalism, pop, and color field painting to create prominent works of epic proportions that energized the New York art scene of the time." In 1996 Avedisian showed his paintings from the 1960s at the Mitchell Algus Gallery, then in SoHo. His last show, dominated by recent landscapes, was in 2003 at the Algus gallery, now in Chelsea. Selected Exhibitions: Op Art: The Responsive Eye, at the Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum’s Young America 1965 Expo 67, held in Montreal, Canada. Six Painters (along with Darby Bannard, Dan Christensen, Ron Davis...
Category

20th Century American Modern Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Oil, Gouache, Archival Paper

Modern Orange, Brown, Yellow, and Black Geometric Abstract Pattern Painting
By John Little
Located in Houston, TX
Modern orange, brown, yellow, and black geometric abstract composition by textile designer John Little. The work was created as a proposed design for a wallpaper and features the original color codes in the front lower left corner. Currently hung in a solid black frame with a large white margin. Dimensions Without Frame: H 35.5 in. x W 33.5 in. Artist Biography: A painter and textile designer, John Little is best known for gestural works filled with boldly explosive color that reflect the influences of his teacher Hans Hofmann and for his involvement in the Abstract Expressionist movement in East Hampton, where he moved in the late 1940s. In East Hampton Little congregated with Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, and the other artists who were the leading innovators in the New York School. John Little was born in Sanford, Alabama. He left home at the age of fourteen to become an artist, and moved to Buffalo, New York, in 1923. After spending a year working as a stevedore on the docks to save money, he enrolled at the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy and developed an interest in singing. In 1927 he moved to New York City where he continued his vocal work and studied operatic literature. He also became involved in textile design, opening his own store in 1920, called John Little Studios: Fabric and Wallpaper Design. He ran the store until 1950. In 1933 John Little resumed his painting studies at the Art Students League in New York under the guidance of George Grosz (1893-1959). The following year he made his first visit to East Hampton, Long Island, which he would eventually call home. Later in the decade, he traveled to Paris where he became familiar with European modernism. On his return to America, he taught textile design at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. He hired Josephine Watkins to work for him; she later became his wife. Little's textile store and teaching job gave him a financial security that was rare during the Depression, and he never found it necessary to find employment with the Works Progress Administration. At the end of the decade, John Little studied with Hans Hofmann (1880-1966) in New York and Provincetown. Little was greatly influenced by Hofmann, particularly by his views on color theory. In 1942 John Little joined the Navy as an aerial photographer. In the late 1940s he purchased a rundown house on Three Mile Harbor...
Category

Early 20th Century Modern Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Paper, Gouache

1950s "Sitting in Chair" Mid Century Figurative Pratt Graphic Arts Center
By Donald Stacy
Located in Arp, TX
Donald Stacy "Sitting in Chair" c.1950s Gouache and oil pastel on paper 24" x 18" unframed Came from artist's estate *Custom framing available for additio...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Paper, Oil Pastel, Gouache

Chef Pasta - Vintage Illustration in Ink and Watercolor
By Irene Pattinson
Located in Soquel, CA
Chef Pasta - Vintage Illustration in Ink and Watercolor A charming illustration, by Irene Pattinson (American, 1909-1999), shows a chef in an 1800's toque blanche, pouring oil from an ornate bottle over a bowl. His face, with spectacles, a moustache and goatee in fine line work, is painted in vibrant pink watercolor for an added splash of color. Signed in the bottom right corner, "i.p." Presented in a new white mat with foam core backing. Mat size: 8.5"H x 11"W Paper size: 6.75"H x 6.75"W Image size: 4.13"H x 3.63"W Irene Pattinson (American, 1909-1999) studied at the California School of Fine Art (now The San Francisco Art Institute), San Francisco State College and The Marion Hartwell School of Design. She was President of the San Francisco Woman Artists Association 1955-56. Provenance: The Artist, Estate of Irene Pattinson: David Carlson; Estate of Larry Miller Fine Art, Robert Azensky Fine Art. Solo Exhibitions: Lucien Labaudt Gallery 1955; San Francisco Museum of Art, 1961 (39 works). Selected Group Exhibitions: San Francisco Art Association Annual 1948, 54, 55; San Francisco Woman Artists, 1957-1960; Oakland Art Museum Annual, 1951, 58; California Palace of the Legion of Honor, 1960; Richmond Art Center, 1955, 56, 57, 58; San Francisco Art Institute 1959, 60. The Art Bank of the San Francisco Art Association, 1958, 59, 60, 62, 63; Winter Invitational, California Palace of The Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 1960; Fourth Winter Invitational, California Palace of The Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 1963. Awards: First Place, San Francisco Woman Artists Assoc., 1957, 1959; San Francisco Art Festival 1957;Literature: San Francisco Art Institute - A catalog of the Art Ban 1962/63; San Francisco and the Second Wave: The Blair Collection Exhibitions: 1963 The Art Bank of the San Francisco Art Association, San Francisco, CA 1963 California Palace of The Legion of Honor: Forth Winter Invitational, San Francisco, CA 1962 The Art Bank of the San Francisco Art Association, San Francisco, CA 1961 San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, CA 1960 California...
Category

1950s American Modern Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Paper, India Ink, Watercolor, Pen

Previously Available Items
“Untitled Abstract”
By Rolph Scarlett
Located in Southampton, NY
Untitled watercolor on paper geometric abstract by the Canadian/American artist, Rolph Scarlett. Signed lower left. Condition is good. Newly matted and framed in one inch wide matte...
Category

1940s Abstract Geometric Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

“Invisible Eye”
By Rolph Scarlett
Located in Southampton, NY
Circa 1955 original acrylic and watercolor mixed media painting by the Canadian/American artist Rolph Scarlett. Signed lower left. Condition is very good. Great, bold colors typica...
Category

1950s Post-Modern Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Paper, Acrylic, Watercolor

“Free Forms”
By Rolph Scarlett
Located in Southampton, NY
Original oil pastel on archival paper by the Canadian/American artist, Rolph Scarlett. Signed lower left. Circa 1955. Condition: Very good. Newly framed in black matte frame wit...
Category

1950s Post-Modern Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Oil Pastel, Archival Paper

“Untitled Abstract”
By Rolph Scarlett
Located in Southampton, NY
Original watercolor on archival paper by the Canadian/American artist, Rolph Scarlett. Signed middle bottom. Condition: Very good. Overall framed in matte black frame with acid fr...
Category

1940s Post-Modern Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Watercolor, Archival Paper

“Abstract, 1950”
By Rolph Scarlett
Located in Southampton, NY
Original watercolor on archival paper by the Canadian/American artist, Rolph Scarlett. Signed lower right. Condition: Very good. Circa 1950. Overall in matte black frame with whi...
Category

1950s Post-Modern Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Watercolor, Archival Paper

“Abstract in Blue”
By Rolph Scarlett
Located in Southampton, NY
Gouache, watercolor and pencil on archival paper by the Canadian/American artist, Rolph Scarlett. Signed bottom right. Circa 1950. Condition: Excellent. Provenance: Eric Firesto...
Category

1950s Abstract Geometric Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Watercolor, Gouache, Archival Paper, Carbon Pencil

"Abstract, 1940"
By Rolph Scarlett
Located in Southampton, NY
Here for your consideration is a very complex and intricate original artwork by the well known Candadian/American artist, Rolph Scarlett. Ink and watercolor on cardboard. Circa 194...
Category

1930s Abstract Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Ink, Watercolor

"Lamp Shade"
By Rolph Scarlett
Located in Southampton, NY
Signed front and bottom left, not dated Provenance: Portico New York, Inc. Framed
Category

1930s American Modern Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Oil Pastel, Paper

Bandaid
By Rolph Scarlett
Located in Southampton, NY
Signed lower left Scarlett, dated 1952
Category

1950s Rolph Scarlett Art

Materials

Gouache, Paper

Bandaid
H 13.75 in W 16.125 in

Rolph Scarlett art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Rolph Scarlett art available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of art to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of orange, green and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Rolph Scarlett in paint, watercolor, gouache and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the abstract style. Not every interior allows for large Rolph Scarlett art, so small editions measuring 5 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Curtis Ripley, Bernd Haussmann, and Dmitri Wright. Rolph Scarlett art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,200 and tops out at $75,000, while the average work can sell for $6,500.

Artists Similar to Rolph Scarlett

Recently Viewed

View All