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William Scharf
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William Scharf
William Scharf (February 22, 1927, Media, Pennsylvania – January 15, 2018, New York City, New York) was an American abstract artist from New York City.
Scharf grew up on Ridge Road in Media, Pennsylvania, the eldest of two children of Lester William Scharf and Ebba Scharf, née Anderson, of German and Swedish descent.
At age ten he was befriended by the illustrator N. C. Wyeth, who encouraged him, gave him art supplies, and later recommended him to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, writing: "This boy has the stuff". Scharf would remain in touch with Wyeth until his death in 1945.
At the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts he studied under Franklin Watkins, Daniel Garber, and Walter Stuempfig, as well as under Abraham Chanin at the Barnes Foundation in Merion, Pennsylvania.
In 1948 he received the Cresson Traveling Scholarship from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, went to Paris and studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. During this time he also travelled to Italy, Belgium, and England, and in England became friends with Leslie Illingsworth of Punch magazine, to whom he sold drawings.
In 1947 Scharf married Diana Denny, with whom he had one son, William Denny Scharf. The couple divorced in 1951.
In 1952 Scharf moved to New York City, where he became associated with the New York School of the Abstract Expressionist movement. The following year he moved to a studio on West 53rd Street, adjacent to the Museum of Modern Art, where he secured employment as a museum guard. During this time he became friends with Dorothy Miller and Mark Rothko, as well as the photographer Jack Manning, the jazz musician Willie Dennis, and other artists frequenting the Cedar Tavern in Greenwich Village, including Julius Hatofsky, Franz Kline and Willem de Kooning.
In 1956 Scharf married Sally Kravitch — an actress with the stage name of Sally Jessup — daughter of the Savannah, Georgia lawyer Aaron Kravitch, and sister of Phyllis Kravitch. Mark Rothko was best man and his wife Mel was matron of honor. The reception was held at the Rothkos' apartment.
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William Scharf
William Scharf (February 22, 1927, Media, Pennsylvania – January 15, 2018, New York City, New York) was an American abstract artist from New York City.
Scharf grew up on Ridge Road in Media, Pennsylvania, the eldest of two children of Lester William Scharf and Ebba Scharf, née Anderson, of German and Swedish descent.
At age ten he was befriended by the illustrator N. C. Wyeth, who encouraged him, gave him art supplies, and later recommended him to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, writing: "This boy has the stuff". Scharf would remain in touch with Wyeth until his death in 1945.
At the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts he studied under Franklin Watkins, Daniel Garber, and Walter Stuempfig, as well as under Abraham Chanin at the Barnes Foundation in Merion, Pennsylvania.
In 1948 he received the Cresson Traveling Scholarship from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, went to Paris and studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière. During this time he also travelled to Italy, Belgium, and England, and in England became friends with Leslie Illingsworth of Punch magazine, to whom he sold drawings.
In 1947 Scharf married Diana Denny, with whom he had one son, William Denny Scharf. The couple divorced in 1951.
In 1952 Scharf moved to New York City, where he became associated with the New York School of the Abstract Expressionist movement. The following year he moved to a studio on West 53rd Street, adjacent to the Museum of Modern Art, where he secured employment as a museum guard. During this time he became friends with Dorothy Miller and Mark Rothko, as well as the photographer Jack Manning, the jazz musician Willie Dennis, and other artists frequenting the Cedar Tavern in Greenwich Village, including Julius Hatofsky, Franz Kline and Willem de Kooning.
In 1956 Scharf married Sally Kravitch — an actress with the stage name of Sally Jessup — daughter of the Savannah, Georgia lawyer Aaron Kravitch, and sister of Phyllis Kravitch. Mark Rothko was best man and his wife Mel was matron of honor. The reception was held at the Rothkos' apartment.
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