Ethel Redner Scull was an American art collector, best known for the collection of Pop and Minimal Art that she assembled with her then husband, Robert Scull.
Early life
Born as Ethel Redner in the Bronx in 1921, she was the daughter of Ben Redner, who owned a successful taxicab company that she and Robert Scull would rename as Scull's Angels. She led a privileged life and later studied advertising art at the Parsons School of Design.
Marriage
Ethel Redner married Robert Scull, and they had three sons, Jonathan, Stephen and Adam. Robert Scull inherited a share of Redner's father's taxi cab company following Mr. Redner's retirement. After accumulating wealth in the taxi industry the couple broke into the Art scene by collecting Abstract and Contemporary art. With the revenue from their first auction in 1965 they established The Robert and Ethel Scull Foundation. The foundations primary goal being to support young artists by means of buying their art, paying for rent and other living expenses. Soon they garnered many criticisms mainly over their auctions, sometimes selling pieces for triple the price they bought it at. They filed for divorce in 1975 ending in 1986 after Robert Scull's death.
Commissions
Scull was the subject of Ethel Scull 36 Times, a 1963 painting by the American artist Andy Warhol, currently in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was Warhol's first commissioned work. The work consists of a grid of four rows of nine columns depicting Scull in 36 different poses. The artwork is jointly owned by the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Another notable commission Scull made was a George Segal portrait sculpture titled Portrait of Robert and Ethel Scull. The plaster sculpture features Scull wearing sunglasses sitting in a Victorian chair with Robert Scull standing behind her. This artwork is currently in the collection of Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art Segal cast Scull in two separate casts the first being from her neck down. Scull's boots continue to be stuck inside the sculpture. ''
Death and legacy
in 2001 Scull died from a stroke, followed by a heart attack in a retirement home in Manhattan, New York. Ethel Scull is referred to the Mom of Pop Art, however she has gone through many criticisms because of her success. a very famous art auction, Sotheby’s Parke Bernet on October 18, 1973, is due to the prosperity of the Sculls. A piece of contemporary art, with the artist still living, they bought for $900 and sold for $85,000. They were helping unknown artists yet were accused of profiteering and social climbing. Ethel Scull's legacy will forever be entwined in the business of selling contemporary and pop art and even more so physically wrapped in pieces such as Ethel Scull 36 Times by Andy Warhol.
