Age:	71
	Hometown:	St. Louis, MO
	Profession/Type of Art:	Painter/Impressionist-Expressionist
	Education:	Washington University School of Fine Art, 2 years; Graduate of Owner President Management Program; Graduate School of Business, Harvard University

After two years at Washington University School of Fine Art in St. Louis, Scharf went on to receive some very useful training in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He attended Engineering Drafting School at Ft. Belvoir, VA, and then worked in a field printing plant as an artist, film stripper, and plate-maker. That training served him well as a technical illustrator for an aircraft company and later as an art director for Vi-Tronic, Inc.

Combining his artistic, technical, and business skills, Scharf started his own promotional products business in 1963. His experience in the corporate world took him all over the world, and while he was associated with D'Arcy Advertising, he worked with famous clients like Anheuser-Busch and Cadillac.

An unfortunate financial turn of events forced Scharf to close down his business in 1990. He had never abandoned his fine arts passion. Over the years, he traveled widely and took pictures wherever he visited. He had also continued to paint whenever he had the time to devote to it. His semi-retirement from business in 1990 became an opportunity to pursue his painting. Scharf threw himself into the business side of his art with all the knowledge and experience he had gained over the almost forty years in the corporate world. His expertise and perseverance have made him successful at his passion: painting.

Scharf grew up in North St. Louis and has been married to his wife Esther, a fellow St. Louisan, for 40 years. When they were first married, she taught school. In 1990, when their fortunes were in flux, she returned to school and has become a licensed clincal social worker. They have two grown sons.

The following interview with Max R. Scharf was conducted by Cheryl Blake, UM-St. Louis, August 2004.

Q. What has brought you to this point in your artistic career?

A. I was in art school at Washington University in 1951. I wasn't a good student because I was very hyper. I was unhappy, fighting with the professors. I left school and was drafted. It was during the Korean War. The service was good for me. They sent me to drafting school, and I worked in a field printing plant. There was one teacher at Washington U. whose teaching turned me on, Charles Quest. He taught me how to draw the human figure. It was because of him that I was encouraged to go further in my art career.

People think you either have talent as an artist or you don't. That is a misconception, you can be taught to be a good artist. Once I realized that in Quest's class, I felt good about myself. My perseverance is there [in my art]; I keep at it.

Q. When did you begin to sell your paintings?

A. I sold my promotional products and sales business to D'Arcy Advertising in 1968 and became president of one of their subsidiaries with clients like Anheuser Busch and Cadillac. I bought the business back in 1972. It was successful, with sales up to $17.8 million. Then my bank, The Bank of New England, became insolvent, and the government took over the bank and called my notes, and I lost almost all of my fortune in 1990. Then, in 1991, I exhibited some of my paintings in a local gallery. At my first show in St. Louis, two paintings sold for $4,800 each. That was the beginning of my professional career.

As time went on I realized how tough it was going to be to succeed in the art world. To have a chance to succeed you need to constantly promote yourself.

I won my first competition I ever entered, the 1992 Saint Louis Art Museum Holiday Card competition. Shortly after that I got a prestigious exhibit in 1993 sponsored by the National Park Service in the rotunda of the Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis. People asked me how I got the exhibition, and I told them I asked for it. I called and found out whom to talk to at the National Park Service. I presented my idea, "Impressions of National Parks and St. Louis," and they gave me a two-month show. The paintings were not for sale there, but it was an impressive exhibition that was good for my credibility.

Medieval Village III Max R. Scharf © 2004

Now my paintings in galleries are priced $10,000-20,000 each. My New York agents have asked me to paint some smaller canvasses in the $5,000 range to have a better price mix at solo exhibitions. Q. From your business and art experience, what advice do you have for artists starting out? A. How you're perceived is what counts. So when you take your paintings to show a prospective collector or gallery, treat them like they are worth thousands of dollars. Establish credibility. I wasn't selling paintings in the rotunda of the Old Courthouse, but that kind of thing looks great on a resume. You got to take a swing to hit a homerun. You have to promote yourself. My first solo show in 1991, I put together a very, very good PR package that included four-color invitations and posters and had them delivered by courier to the media in St. Louis. In St. Louis I am known in the art community as skilled in the business part of the art world and that I offer advice to fellow artists.

I wish some of those young artists that came to me would have done so before they got into contracts. You have to be careful. There are many pitfalls, and an artist needs to know what to do to protect him or herself. A gallery might not let you know when one of your paintings has been sold. Then they may try to pay you out over months rather than in one sum. Develop a proper contract that protects both parties. Q. Did college art school prepare you for the business side of art? A. No, not when I was in school. I don't know if they offer that now. When I am asked to speak to college students, I know where the questions will be headed. "The Business Part of the Fine Artist's World" is the lecture that I present.

Shadows on French Country Road Max R. Scharf ©2004

[Scharf has spoken to students at William Woods University and Fontbonne University and has had students come to his studio for help and advice. The lecture to which he refers includes how to prepare the portfolio, personal appearance, representation, and other equally important components of fine arts and business.]

Visit Max's Art Commerce website and Art Exhibition website to see how successful artists bring attention to their work.

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