Theo Scharf b. 1899

  • Artist (Printmaker),
  • Artist (Painter)
Painter, etcher and art teacher, Melbourne-born Theo Scharf was a professor of painting and drawing at the Munich Academy of Fine Art in 1934-35. He was also a war artist for Hitler though his paintings, which have since been lost or destroyed, were believed to have been generic records of battles, rather than propaganda.
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painter, etcher and art teacher, was born in Melbourne of German parents, the musicians Eduard Scharf and Olive de Hugard. A child prodigy in both painting and music (his portrait, Boy with Palette by Violet Teague , is in the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, ACT), he performed (on violin and piano?), painted and taught art in Australia and Germany. (He travelled with his parents in Germany after WWI, then was professor of painting and drawing at the Munich Academy of Fine Art in 1934-35). Not aligned with the allies during WWII, the paintings he did as a war artist for Hitler (now destroyed or lost) are believed to have been generic records of battles, rather than propaganda (see T. Ingram). After returning to Australia for six years (1950-56), he went back to Munich.

According to Ingram, interest in Scharf’s etchings was kindled in the early 1920s when Dame Nellie Melba brought a set back to Australia. His chef d’oeuvre is the series of 20 works Night in a City (1922-23), which evokes the spirit of Weimar Germany with something of the acerbic wit of Georg Grosz. (A full copy was exhibited for sale late in 1966 at Bridget McDonnell Gallery, Melbourne.) Included are: 'Restaurant I’ n.d., 'Concert’ 1922, 'Theater’ (no.12) and 'Restaurant III’. Also 'Prizefight’ 1923 (Josef Lebovic and/or Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney) and 'All Souls Day’ (old people visiting a cemetery) n.d. (ill. Lebovic & Warner, Fifty Years , cat.71).

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Writers:
Staff Writer
Date written:
1996
Last updated:
2007

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Date modified May 23, 2013, 7:50 p.m. May 23, 2013, 7:48 p.m.
References [<ExternalResource: Lebovic, Josef and Warner, Sandra (compiled by) (1988), 'Fifty Years of Australian Printmaking: Sydney Long to Eric Thake', Josef Lebovic Gallery, Paddington, Sydney, NSW (12 Apr-17 May), [cat nos. 70-71].>, <ExternalResource: (1997), '20th Anniversary Print Show', Josef Lebovic Gallery, Paddington, Sydney, NSW (12 April-/17 May), cat. nos 93-96 (no.93, 'The Wrestlers' 1922, drypoint, and no.95 'Bal Coloniale, Paris' 1920, engraving, stipple & etching, ill.).>, <ExternalResource: Ingram, Terry (1997), 'Cringe Bites Back!', Australian Art Collector 1 (Jul/Sept), p 73.>, <ExternalResource: (1996), 'Australian Prints', Bridget McDonnell Gallery, (29 Oct-22 Nov), Melbourne, Vic.>, <ExternalResource: 'Joan Kerr Archive', National Library of Australia, Canberra, ACT.>, <ExternalResource: Peers, Juliet (1995), 'Société des Artistes Français (Old Salon), Paris, 1920', Kerr, Joan (ed.), Heritage, Craftsman House, Sydney, New South Wales, pp.20-21.>, <ExternalResource: Ryan, Anne and Wilson, Natalie (2006), 'Theo Scharf: Night in a City', Art Gallery of New South Wales (online catalogue), Sydney, NSW.>, <ExternalResource: Information sourced from Peers, Juliet.>, <ExternalResource: Theo Scharf, personal correspondence>] [<ExternalResource: Lebovic, Josef and Warner, Sandra (compiled by) (1988), 'Fifty Years of Australian Printmaking: Sydney Long to Eric Thake', Josef Lebovic Gallery, Paddington, Sydney, NSW (12 Apr-17 May), [cat nos. 70-71].>, <ExternalResource: (1997), '20th Anniversary Print Show', Josef Lebovic Gallery, Paddington, Sydney, NSW (12 April-/17 May), cat. nos 93-96 (no.93, 'The Wrestlers' 1922, drypoint, and no.95 'Bal Coloniale, Paris' 1920, engraving, stipple & etching, ill.).>, <ExternalResource: Ingram, Terry (1997), 'Cringe Bites Back!', Australian Art Collector 1 (Jul/Sept), p 73.>, <ExternalResource: (1996), 'Australian Prints', Bridget McDonnell Gallery, (29 Oct-22 Nov), Melbourne, Vic.>, <ExternalResource: 'Joan Kerr Archive', National Library of Australia, Canberra, ACT.>, <ExternalResource: Peers, Juliet (1995), 'Société des Artistes Français (Old Salon), Paris, 1920', Kerr, Joan (ed.), Heritage, Craftsman House, Sydney, New South Wales, pp.20-21.>, <ExternalResource: Ryan, Anne and Wilson, Natalie (2006), 'Theo Scharf: Night in a City', Art Gallery of New South Wales (online catalogue), Sydney, NSW.>, <ExternalResource: Information sourced from Peers, Juliet.>]