Dorothy Scharf was born into a family of German-Jewish descent (with roots in Poland and Czechoslovakia) in London, England in 1942. Scharf immigrated to Australia at the age of five with her parents, returning to England with her mother after her father's death in 1970. Brought up in a household that valued literature and art, she began collecting in the 1960s, eventually bequeathing a significant collection to the Courtauld Gallery in London, including works by Turner and Constable.
Art collector Dorothy Scharf was born in London on 3 July 1942 into a family of German-Jewish descent with roots in Poland and Czechoslovakia. Her family’s rich cultural background had a significant influence on her interests and pursuits. Scharf was brought up in a household where literature and art were highly valued, and this played a considerable role in shaping her tastes and future collecting habits. Scharf's maternal lineage included her great-grandfather, Emanuel Bondi, a renowned teacher, and her grandfather, Julius Bondi, an art dealer and long-time secretary of the Kunstverein in Salzburg. Julius’s siblings and cousins were also distinguished in various cultural fields, including acting, writing, and journalism. Scharf was also distantly related to the writer Franz Kafka through her mother, Josepha "Peppi" Scharf. The Scharf family originally came from Poland but had lived in Berlin for several generations, where they were successful in business. Scharf immigrated to Australia at the age of five with her parents. Her father, Freddie Scharf, worked as an agent for the wireless firm Grundig. Despite the geographical shift, Scharf’s connection to art remained steadfast, significantly influenced by her mother’s tastes and by her family’s artistic background. Scharf's parents had met in London when her mother was on holiday from her native Prague in 1937. With the growing danger for Jews in Central Europe apparent by 1938, they married by proxy, allowing Peppi to flee Czechoslovakia. Tragically, almost all of Peppi’s family perished in the camps (including Auschwitz) during the Holocaust. Scharf and her mother returned to London following Freddie's death in 1970. This move back to England marked a significant period in Scharf's life, where her connection to art deepened further.
Scharf began collecting art in the 1960s, initially focusing on European Old Master drawings. Her mother’s discerning taste and the family's longstanding engagement with the arts provided a solid foundation for her burgeoning collection. Some of these early acquisitions were eventually donated to institutions such as the University of New South Wales in Australia and the British Museum in London. Scharf also acquired drawings from her aunt, Fay Scharf, the widow of Alfred Scharf, an art dealer and academic who briefly taught at the Courtauld Institute in the 1940s. In the early 1970s, Scharf shifted her focus to English watercolours, selling a few Old Master drawings to fund this new passion. She developed a particular affinity for J.M.W. Turner, whose works became a significant part of her collection. Her collecting was characterised by a meticulous and demanding approach, often involving the expertise and advice of the most respected London dealers, such as Agnew's, Leger, and Spink. She built close working relationships with dealers and often sought to secure new acquisitions before they became widely available. Her mother played a crucial role in authorising purchases, although the selection of works was always Scharf’s prerogative. This dynamic mother-daughter duo was a familiar sight in London's art dealing circles, with Peppi often driving Scharf to view new pieces and negotiate acquisitions. Scharf and her mother lived in flats opposite each other in Swiss Cottage, London. Peppi’s influence over Scharf was profound; she mediated almost all aspects of Scharf's life, including her art dealings. This close relationship was a double-edged sword, providing Scharf with support, but also contributed to her extreme shyness and introversion. Tragically, Scharf died in London, England, shortly after her mother’s death in December 2004 at the age of 90. Unable to cope with the loss, she took her own life hours later.
Scharf’s posthumous bequest of 52 watercolours to the Courtauld Gallery, London in 2007 marked the most substantial addition to the Gallery's collection in over 25 years. Valued at £5 million, this donation included works from the so-called "Golden Age" of British watercolour painting, spanning from 1750 to 1850. The collection featured notable artists such as Turner, Constable, Gainsborough, and Cozens, highlighting the technical innovations and evolving tastes that transformed watercolour painting during this period. The inclusion of Scharf's collection at the Courtauld has been a boon to both scholars and the public, offering a rich resource for studying the development of British watercolours. The collection's significance was celebrated in the exhibition Paths to Fame: Turner Watercolours from The Courtauld (2008–09) which showcased some of the finest pieces from the Scharf bequest. In the UK public domain works from the Scharf Collection are also held by the British Museum, London.
Consult items in the Ben Uri archive related to [Dorothy Scharf]
Publications related to [Dorothy Scharf] in the Ben Uri Library