William Scharf

"Untitled" William Scharf, Abstract Expressionist, New York School

1962

William Scharf Tropic of Crucifix, 1957 Signed and dated on the reverse Oil on canvas 40 x 47 inches Provenance: The artist Robert Barnet, New York (gift from the above) Private Collection, by descent A visionary painter with ties to the avant-garde artistic community in New York at midcentury, William Scharf nevertheless defies art historical categorization. His abstracted compositions of organic and geometric formal elements recall the free associations of Surrealism and the all-over grandeur of Abstract Expressionism, and at the same time embody a very individual and immediately recognizable pictorial sense. Scharf combines virtuoso paint handling, vibrant color, and rich symbolic language in canvases that engage the viewer in a transcendent and emotional dialogue. This dialogue is accomplished in part through recurring symbols, which allude to hidden, mysterious narratives. Scharf plumbs the psychological wells of collective myths for symbolic content: the crown of thorns, the ladder, the fish, and the cross can be found throughout, functioning not, as one might expect, as religious symbols, but rather as a means through which to access a deeper, symbolic level of visual communication. Born in 1927 in Media, Pennsylvania, an early friendship with renowned artist N.C. Wyeth encouraged Scharf’s artistic efforts from a very young age. After a time with the Army Air Corps in the mid-1940s, Scharf formalized his art studies at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts under Franklin Watkins...

William Littlefield Wildness Lies in Wait, 1956 Signed and dated lower left; signed, dated and titled on the reverse Oil on canvas 48 x 25 inches William Horace Littlefield was bor...

Ted N. Kurahara (b. 1925) Study C60, 1960 Oil on canvas 70 x 50 inches Signed and dated upper right corner Artist label verso: TED N. KURAHARA STUDY C60, OIL PTG 1960 70” x 50” 800 Ted Kurahara works in a minimal style that transforms color planes into infinite depth. Following his upbringing Seattle and time spent in an Internment Camp before serving in the 442nd, a highly decorated Japanese American...

Knox Martin (1923 - 2022) Untitled Signed to lower edge Acrylic and gold foil on canvas 9 x 9 inches Knox Martin (1923-2022) was an esteemed New York School painter. Knox Martin was born in 1923 in Barranquilla, Colombia. He was the son of the aviator, painter, and poet William Knox Martin, the first man to fly over the Andes Mountains. After serving in World War II, Knox Martin attended the Art Students League of New York on the G.I. Bill from 1946-1950, where he studied with Harry Sternberg, Vaclav Vytlacil, Will Barnet, and Morris Kantor. In 1954, Knox Martin's friend Franz Kline placed a painting of his in the Stable Gallery Annual. Charles Egan of the renowned Charles Egan Gallery saw Knox Martin's painting at the Stable Gallery and asked Martin to show his work in a one-man show for the tenth anniversary of the Egan Gallery. Since then, Knox Martin was a celebrated painter, sculptor and muralist. Knox Martin had an extensive exhibition record and his work is in museum, corporate and private collections worldwide. His two best-known murals in NYC are Venus and Woman with Bicycle...

Waterline Fine Art, Austin, TX is pleased to present the following work: Acrylic on canvas. Initialed and dated verso. 48 x 36 in. 49.5 x 37.5 in. (framed) Custom framed in a maple floater with a polyurethane clear coat finish. Provenance Iannetti Lanzone Gallery, San Francisco Private Collection, San Francisco Private Collection, Alameda, CA Charles Strong...

Elfi Schuselka (Austrian, b. 1940), Abstract Composition, Oil on Canvas, apparently unsigned, stamped "Studio Elfi Schuselka" to verso, unstetched, unframed. 21.5" H x 23.5" W. Prove...

Jack Roth (American, 1927-2004), Untitled (Rope Dancer Series), Acrylic on Canvas, 1980, signed and dated "Roth 80", marked "JR-261-80", and with "Jack Roth Estate" stamps verso, unf...

Untitled Abstract Expressionist painting, 1957 Oil on canvas measuring 18 x 30 inches. Signed with monogram and dated lower right. Two repair patches on back on painting. Artist...