All too often, an artist’s success only falls upon them once they gain the title of “late artist.” But sometimes, artists get to experience the fruits of their labor as a late-in-life artist. Up-and-coming artist Scott Kahn is a perfect example of this phenomenon. Born in 1946, Kahn grew up in the southwestern part of Massachusetts, and was first exposed to the arts through school. His family relocated from West Springfield to Long Meadow when he was in junior high, but he would go back often to take art classes in the basement of the Springfield Museum. While he didn’t grow up in the world of fine arts – his mother was a homemaker, and his biological father and stepfather were both in the publishing and printing business – he had the means to pursue artistic training elsewhere, learning about visual arts, music, and language. He was also fortunate to be surrounded by successful creatives, including his neighbor, Cherry Fabe Michelman, an heiress, author, and professor at a local community college and university, who offered the encouragement that was key to Kahn’s exploration of the arts into adulthood.

Scott Kahn, Cul de Sac, 2022, ukiyo-e woodcut from the original 2017 piece, oil on linen. Courtesy of Pace

As a legacy applicant to the University of Pennsylvania, he attended the Ivy League school with a Fine Arts major, and afterwards, applied to several graduate programs. Instead of getting discouraged by the lack of acceptances he received that year, he spent the time between application cycles studying at the Art Students League of New York under abstract expressionist painter Theodoros Stamos. The following year, he received several acceptances and ultimately chose to pursue his degree at Rutgers University. Despite 25 years of representation earlier in his career, by the Katharina Rich Perlow Gallery in New York City, where he had solo exhibitions, a 2004 retrospective at his alma mater’s gallery in Pennsylvania, and awards from prestigious foundations, Kahn didn’t have his big break until recently, as a septuagenarian. In part, Kahn’s rise to fame stemmed from his Facebook friendship with Canadian painter Matthew Wong. Despite some 2,000 miles between them and 20 years in age (Wong was born in 1984 and tragically died at the age of 35, during his rise to fame), the two bonded over their shared interest in the intersection of Magical Realism and Abstract Expressionism, and their vibrant depictions of the natural world. When Wong’s career skyrocketed in 2018, he told dealers about Kahn, and posted his painting, Cul de Sac, 2017, on Instagram. Kahn’s career, which laid dormant for 15 years, was suddenly shaken awake.

Scott Kahn, The Curtains Parted, 2022, oil on linen. Courtesy of Scott Kahn via Instagram

In the last two years, Kahn has had sold-out shows with Almine Rech in Paris and at Harper Levine’s galleries in New York City, a solo exhibition at Rech’s gallery, and he has set, and then broken, his personal sales record. Kahn has said that just before his sudden rise to fame, he was living in his cousin’s attic, and couldn’t sell a painting for more than $5,000. Now his pieces can fetch upwards of $1 million, with many in excess of $500,000. In 2021, he set his world auction record in Hong Kong for his painting, Cadman Plaza Summer, 2006, which sold for $961,286, and then broke his record one year later, again in Hong Kong, with Big House, Homage to America, 2012, which sold for $1,439,987. Also in 2022, he set his retail sales record at the Almine Rech Gallery with The Curtains Parted, 2022, at $1.2 million. On November 8, his The Swimming Pool, 1988, will be auctioned at Rago Arts and Auction Center with an estimate of 200,000 – 300,000 USD (Disclaimer: MutualArt consigned this work on behalf of a customer).