DEMOREST — Bob Scharfenstein, the art collector and philanthropist whose generosity helped establish Piedmont University’s Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art, has died.
The museum announced Scharfenstein’s death in a social media post, saying its thoughts were with his family and friends.
“We take comfort imagining Bob and Bill Mason together again, at one of heaven’s many art auctions, doing what they loved most,” the museum wrote. “We’re grateful for their generosity, and their spirit and name live on through the museum they helped build.”
Details about Scharfenstein’s age, date of death and funeral arrangements were not immediately available.
Scharfenstein, a Birmingham, Alabama, resident, shared a lifelong interest in art with Dr. Bill Mason, his partner and later husband of 51 years. The two studied art, traveled to auctions throughout the country and assembled a collection that included hundreds of paintings, sculptures, art glass and crystal. Their collection focused particularly on 19th- and 20th-century American art. Bill Mason’s 2014 obituary described their shared enthusiasm for art as a “magnificent obsession.”
Their connection to Northeast Georgia came through Mason, a 1957 graduate of what was then Piedmont College. In 2011, Mason and Scharfenstein founded the Mason-Scharfenstein Museum of Art in Demorest, providing a permanent home for artwork they donated to the college.
During the museum’s opening ceremonies, then-Gov. Nathan Deal thanked the couple for their contribution to the arts and culture of Northeast Georgia.
Today, the museum contains two permanent galleries and a changing exhibition space. It presents student and faculty exhibitions as well as shows featuring visiting artists from across the country and around the world. The museum also hosts cultural and educational programs for Piedmont students and the surrounding community. Piedmont University describes the museum as a place dedicated to artistic and cultural enrichment throughout Northeast Georgia.
Scharfenstein and Mason also supported the Birmingham Museum of Art. Records from that museum identify works donated by the couple, including paintings, decorative art and sculpture. Following Mason’s death in 2014, Scharfenstein continued making gifts in his memory.
Among them was the 1915 bronze sculpture “The Spirit of Revolt,” which Scharfenstein donated in memory of his husband. Museum records show that the couple purchased the sculpture in 2006 before Scharfenstein donated it to the Birmingham museum in 2015. The Birmingham Museum of Art credits the gift to Scharfenstein “in loving memory” of Mason.
Their legacy is also preserved in a distinctive concrete bench at the museum in Demorest. Artist Jan Jander created the “benchscape” by having Scharfenstein and Mason sit in wet concrete, leaving behind their physical impressions.
The bench faces “Windsor Castle from Datchet Meade,” a favorite Edward Moran painting from their collection. In announcing Scharfenstein’s death, the museum shared an image of the empty bench and expressed the hope that its founders would continue to “stop by and visit.”
Although Scharfenstein’s death closes another chapter in the museum’s history, the collection he and Mason assembled remains accessible to Piedmont students, local residents and visitors.
“Their spirit and name live on through the museum they helped build,” the museum said.
