One of my most cherished memories is my first meeting with Rolph. We arrived at his house, knocked on the door and had to wait quite awhile until a loud voice asked who was there. When I told him that I was the guy who bought his jewelry from the Jaro Gallery, the door flew open and we both stood there face to face, staring at each other. He knew, somehow, that I understood who he was and appreciated his work, and I knew that he knew I knew. He opened his arms and we hugged in one of those rare moments of complete recognition and understanding. That was the beginning of a very long and trusting friendship. After meeting with Rolph and his wife, Emily, and exchanging many stories, we headed back to NYC deciding we had to come back to Woodstock again. As we were leaving Woodstock, by some mysterious act of fate, we met a couple who wanted to rent their house. The beauty of the place and the “artiness” of the town was a welcome change from the rough and tumble of Manhattan. When we got home and discussed it, we decided to “go for it,” and we rented the house for six months for weekend use. That was the start of a great adventure for us. Beginning in March of 1976, we would pack our station wagon with the kids and head to Woodstock. Our spontaneous few days turned into a six-month stay. During this period Rolph and I would meet in his studio garage each weekend. I would arrive with a bottle of Port, and he would take out bundles and bundles of drawings, which we went through, and which we discussed. Then we would negotiate price. Over time I accumulated an enormous amount of work, which was a fantastic and rare collection, and finally the work he wanted to show me was exhausted. I should have been grateful and satisfied by the work I’d chosen but I was not. I had this persistent feeling something was missing, that there was more to Rolph than what was shown to me. The juice behind the jewelry, the range and variety of his work had to have a “source.” Somehow things just did not add up or feel complete to me. One weekend I put the question to
him; I said, “Rolph, where are your real paintings, the real Rolph Scarlett, the stuff, the juice behind all you have shown me?” Rolph pouted, grumbled, and got up and left the room. A week later I received a call from his grandson Peter. He was going to take me to see some paintings hidden in a farmhouse garage outside of town. When we got there, he pointed to a rickety ladder that led to this loft above the farm wagons. Climbing up led to the most amazing sight. Paintings and canvases all over the place, wooden crates with paintings on the floor and against the walls. I thought, “Eureka! I have struck the mother lode, a veritable treasure trove!” This was it. He had kept them hidden all these years, private to himself, feeling they would not be understood or appreciated. Also, during that time he was still basking in his “Guggenheim Glory Days,” a period during which he enjoyed great prominence. It was an important part of his earlier life. And he was trying to hold onto those memories and his reputation, all quite understandable and human. As my relationship with Rolph deepened it became apparent that somehow I was destined to be the caretaker and custodian of the majority of his life’s work. For years I have stored my painting collection waiting until I felt the public would be ready to accept them and I believe that time has come. Weinstein Gallery in San Francisco has acquired The Samuel and Sandra Esses Collection of Rolph Scarlett paintings. These works represent examples of Scarlett’s lifelong quest to reach the infinite and the extraordinary. His everstretching imagination sought new directions and new forms of expression. The paintings are totally, uniquely Scarlett. They touch all aspects of art, from the early 1920s modern period, cubist, surrealist, nonobjective, abstract expressionist, to his later linear expressionist and representational work. You will find some whimsical, humorous, fanciful, and fantastic. Others are incomprehensible, uncanny, and provoking. But every one is intriguing and fascinating. The paintings chosen for this show represent the essential and true Rolph Scarlett.
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