#9 Rolph Scarlett (American, 1889 – 1984), Abstraction, c. 1934, oil on canvas, 52 x 39 in., Museum purchase with funds provided by the Morton R. Hirschberg Memorial Fund and gifts from Diane DeMell Jacobsen, Ph.D. in loving memory of her husband Thomas H. Jacobsen and James and Diane Burke in memory of Thomas H. Jacobsen, AP.2005.1.1.
A native of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, Scarlett was an industrial and theatrical designer, jeweler, and artist who turned to abstraction after meeting the Swiss artist Paul Klee in 1919. His work gained the attention of Hilla Rebay and Solomon Guggenheim, who were organizing the Museum of Non-Objective Painting (now the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum). Scarlett was well represented in the organization’s collection and exhibitions, and became the institution’s chief lecturer in the 1940s. His work has come to define American Abstraction in the middle decades of the twentieth century.
“It’s fun to imagine what the shapes are.” – Celeste, age 8
“Abstraction” is my personal favorite because it bursts with colors and is an imagination creator.” — Dory
