Theo Scarf
Night in a city
Theo Scharf Restaurant III 1923 from Night in a city portfolio, gift of the Thea Proctor Memorial Fund 2000
Melbourne-born Theo Scharf emigrated in 1914, becoming an illustrator in Munich, and later, a war artist for Germany in World War II. In the early 1920s, he produced his best-remembered work, Night in a city, a portfolio of 20 etchings. The series is a satirical account of the night-life of a typical European or American city, from early evening to dawn. In his depictions of characters flitting through shadowy streets, theatres, night clubs and restaurants, Scharf reveals – with a biting, sardonic wit – the dark underside of society.