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Rolph Scarlett, Andante in Blue (Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation), 1935

Rolph Scarlett, Andante in Blue (Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation), 1935

Rolph Scarlett

SOLD

Description

Rolph Scarlett

Andante in Blue (Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation), 1935

Watercolor and Ink on Paper (Signed & Framed) - Guggenheim Foundation Label & San Francisco Golden Gate International Exposition Label

13 1/2 × 27 in

34.3 × 68.6 cm

This truly historic lyrical abstraction is by the twentieth-century painter Rolph Scarlett. It was one of the earliest purchases by the Guggenheim Foundation, which was founded in 1937, during the era that Solomon Guggenheim was actively collecting Kandinsky's work.
The work has labels from the Guggenheim Foundation as well as the San Francisco International Exposition. The latter label notes the work is "NFS" [not for sale] where the work was exhibited alongside artists including Stuart Davis and Diego Rivera. (The Golden Gate International Exposition (1939 and 1940), held at San Francisco's Treasure Island, was a World's Fair celebrating, among other things, the city's two newly built bridges. The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opened in 1936 and the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937. ) According to the Guggenheim Museum website's biography of Rolph Scarlett: "...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). Rebay provided Scarlett with a Guggenheim Foundation scholarship to paint full-time and obtained several of his paintings for the museum’s collection. 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..."
Framed. A unique, gorgeous and extremely historic piece; you may not see the likes of this again.

Signature: Signed Lower Left recto. 2 Labels on verso: Soloman R. Guggenheim Foundation, Carnegie Hall, NYC "Contemporary Art," San Francisco Golden Gate International Exposition, CA, February 18 - December 2, 1939

Exhibition History: "Contemporary Art," San Francisco Golden Gate International Exposition, CA, February 18 - December 2, 1939
Soloman R. Guggenheim Foundation

Provenance: Excellent Provenance. Soloman R. Guggenheim Foundation, Carnegie Hall, NYC and "Contemporary Art," San Francisco Golden Gate International Exposition, CA, February 18 - December 2, 1939 (with labels)