Rolph Scarlett (American, 1889-1984)

Rolph Scarlett was a Canadian-born self-taught artist from a family of jewelers who settled in New York in 1918. In the 1930s, he was introduced to Solomon R. Guggenheim and Hilla Rebay, and became closely involved in the development of the Museum of Non-Object Painting, later known as the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. The present work highlights Scarlett’s vocabulary in abstract painting with geometric layering, lively coloration and an innate feeling of energy.