Kurt Schwitters

(German, 1887–1948)

Kurt Schwitters was a German artist involved in both Dadaism and Constructivism. Schwitters is best known for his Merz and Merzbau works, which incorporated collage, found objects, typography, and sound poetry to construct unique compositions. In these works, the artist used magazine clippings, waste material, and other recycled items in an attempt to express the rapidly changing world. “I could see no reason why used tram tickets, bits of driftwood, buttons and old junk from attics and rubbish heaps should not serve well as materials for paintings,” he observed. “It is possible to cry out using bits of old rubbish, and that's what I did, gluing and nailing them together.” Born on June 20, 1887 in Hanover, Germany, he went on study art at the Dresden Academy alongside Otto Dix and George Grosz, however there is no evidence he knew them at the time. Returning to his hometown, the artist worked largely in a Cubist and Post-Impressionist style until being conscripted into the German army during World War I. Exempt from active duty because of his epilepsy, Schwitters worked as a draftsman in a machine factory, an experience which inspired his thought that inanimate objects embodied the soul of humanity. After the war, the artist moved to Berlin where he came into contact with Hannah Höch, Raoul Hausmann, and Hans Arp. Schwitters would go on to absorb the influences of El Lissitzky and Piet Mondrian, while producing some his first Merz works and Ursonate poems. After a confrontation with the Gestapo, the artist fled the Nazi regime to Norway in 1937, later settling in the England. He died on January 8, 1948 in Kendal, United Kingdom. Today, Schwitters’s works are held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., among others.

Kurt Schwitters News

Auctions

A Picasso Portrait Consigned by His Ex-Wife's Estate Just Set a Record for the Artist in the Frothy German Auction Market

by Eileen Kinsella
A Picasso Portrait Consigned by His Ex-Wife's Estate Just Set a Record for the Artist in the Frothy German Auction Market
On View

Shows at Luxembourg & Dayan Explore the Life—and Death—of Collage

by Lorena Muñoz-Alonso
Shows at Luxembourg & Dayan Explore the Life—and Death—of Collage
Art World

Kunsthaus Zürich Digitizes 400 Dada Documents

by Alyssa Buffenstein
Kunsthaus Zürich Digitizes 400 Dada Documents

Kurt Schwitters Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Kurt Schwitters (1,033 results)
Untitled (D'Cilly), 1942

Kurt Schwitters

Untitled (D'Cilly), 1942

Sale Date: November 27, 2023

Auction Closed

c 71 falling paper pieces, 1946

Kurt Schwitters

c 71 falling paper pieces, 1946

Sale Date: November 28, 2023

Auction Closed

Bild der guten Hoffnung, 1940

Kurt Schwitters

Bild der guten Hoffnung, 1940

Sale Date: November 14, 2023

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel (orsgrunnsdan), 1937–1938

Kurt Schwitters

Ohne Titel (orsgrunnsdan), 1937–1938

Sale Date: November 11, 2023

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel (Absätze auf Grün), 1942–1945

Kurt Schwitters

Ohne Titel (Absätze auf Grün), 1942–1945

Sale Date: November 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Wieder horizontal, 1947

Kurt Schwitters

Wieder horizontal, 1947

Sale Date: October 24, 2023

Auction Closed

Portrait of a gentleman

Kurt Schwitters

Portrait of a gentleman

Sale Date: September 12, 2023

Auction Closed

Portrait of a woman, 1945, 1945

Kurt Schwitters

Portrait of a woman, 1945, 1945

Sale Date: September 12, 2023

Auction Closed

Kleine DADA Soirée [Small DADA Evening], 1922–1923

Kurt Schwitters

Kleine DADA Soirée [Small DADA Evening], 1922–1923

Sale Date: June 5, 2023

Auction Closed

Deux cartes postales, 1924

Kurt Schwitters

Deux cartes postales, 1924

Sale Date: May 25, 2023

Auction Closed

Deux cartes postales

Kurt Schwitters

Deux cartes postales

Sale Date: May 25, 2023

Auction Closed

Kleine Dada-Soirée, 1923

Theo van Doesburg and Kurt Schwitters

Kleine Dada-Soirée, 1923

Sale Date: June 15, 2023

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel (dadá ist ewig.), 1924

Kurt Schwitters

Ohne Titel (dadá ist ewig.), 1924

Sale Date: June 16, 2023

Auction Closed

Frau am Ziehbrunnen, 1912

Kurt Schwitters

Frau am Ziehbrunnen, 1912

Sale Date: June 7, 2023

Auction Closed

Untitled (uviolett), 1926–1928

Kurt Schwitters

Untitled (uviolett), 1926–1928

Sale Date: May 18, 2023

Auction Closed

Kleine Dada Soirée (Small Dada Evening), 1922

Theo van Doesburg and Kurt Schwitters

Kleine Dada Soirée (Small Dada Evening), 1922

Sale Date: April 18, 2023

Auction Closed

Die Kathedrale from Die Silbergäule, vol...., 1920

Kurt Schwitters

Die Kathedrale from Die Silbergäule, vol...., 1920

Sale Date: April 18, 2023

Auction Closed

o.T., 1932

Kurt Schwitters

o.T., 1932

Sale Date: April 29, 2023

Auction Closed

Abstract ,from Das Kestnerbuch, 1919

Kurt Schwitters

Abstract ,from Das Kestnerbuch, 1919

Sale Date: March 15, 2023

Auction Closed

KURT SCHWITTERS AUSWUCHTEN VON RÄDERN., 1919

Kurt Schwitters

KURT SCHWITTERS AUSWUCHTEN VON RÄDERN., 1919

Sale Date: March 23, 2023

Auction Closed

KURT SCHWITTERS EINDORF., 1918

Kurt Schwitters

KURT SCHWITTERS EINDORF., 1918

Sale Date: March 23, 2023

Auction Closed

Landscape, Hjertøya near Molde, Norway, 1939

Kurt Schwitters

Landscape, Hjertøya near Molde, Norway, 1939

Sale Date: March 7, 2023

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel (Contramerk.), 1923

Kurt Schwitters

Ohne Titel (Contramerk.), 1923

Sale Date: March 3, 2023

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel (Bild mit schiefer Ebene), 1939

Kurt Schwitters

Ohne Titel (Bild mit schiefer Ebene), 1939

Sale Date: March 3, 2023

Auction Closed

English (US)

©2024 Artnet Worldwide Corporation. All rights reserved.