Rolph Scarlett

Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner

Scattered small areas of craquelure and correspondent paint flaking, otherwise in generally good condition. Under ultraviolet light: no apparent signs of inpainting.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
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A creative force with a restive, probing mind, Scarlett worked in a variety of artistic fields before becoming a full-time artist.  He started-out as a jewelry designer, specializing in the setting of precious stones for his uncle’s jewelry business in his hometown of Guelph, Ontario, Canada and then, for several years, was a set designer in Hollywood.  He also produced, directed and wrote theatrical plays.  He painted throughout these early years, but experimented with various styles until he met Paul Klee during a business trip to Switzerland in 1923.  The older artist’s work inspired him deeply and was the catalyst for a lifelong commitment to abstract or non-objective art from that point on.

In the mid-1930s and in response to a newspaper ad, Scarlett’s wife submitted a portfolio of his art to the nascent Museum of Non-Objective Art in New York, where the Baroness Hilla von Rebay and her patron, Solomon R. Guggenheim, were seeking-out the work of promising young artists to help build their collection.  Rebay was enthused and became his first and greatest champion.  Eventually, the Museum amassed over 60 of his works, more than those of any other artist, aside from Wassily Kandinsky and Rudolf Bauer.

With a paid museum fellowship secured by Rebay, Scarlett devoted himself to art full-time and began a long, pivotal relationship with the Museum of Non-Objective Art (later the Guggenheim Museum).  Both Rebay and Rudolf Bauer, the German expatriate artist whose influence on the museum was profound, were important mentors and for many years.  It was Rebay and Bauer who set forth the principles of “Non-Objective Art”, the movement to which Scarlett aligned himself and became a devoted and very public proponent.  This was an art which was the pure invention of the artist’s mind and did not refer to any natural forms, but had as its base a strong spiritual, mystical component which combined Christianity with Eastern religions, especially Buddhism.” (Joan M. Lukach, Hilla Rebay:  In Search of the Spirit in Art, New York, 1983, p. xii).

Scarlett internalized these principles and brought to this new genre all of the creative talents with which his particular life experience had furnished him.  At his best and as exemplified in this work and the preceeding lot, the artist creates an environment in which precise, geometric forms in brilliant, jewel-like colors float in uplifting and exuberant symmetry.