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 Artworks

Kurt Schwitters (1,033 results)

White, 1947

Kurt Schwitters

Sale Date: November 13, 2021

Auction Closed

C 38 intensiv grey, 1946

Kurt Schwitters

C 38 intensiv grey, 1946

Sale Date: November 13, 2021

Auction Closed

29/3, 1929

Kurt Schwitters

Sale Date: November 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel (Merzbild mit Holzspänen), 1937–1938

Kurt Schwitters

Ohne Titel (Merzbild mit Holzspänen), 1937–1938

Sale Date: November 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Bisterfeld, 1916

Kurt Schwitters

Bisterfeld, 1916

Sale Date: November 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel (Dein Treufrischer) (Untitled..., 1921

Kurt Schwitters

Ohne Titel (Dein Treufrischer) (Untitled..., 1921

Sale Date: October 26, 2021

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Iberschrift das Bolschewismuss, 1922

Kurt Schwitters

Iberschrift das Bolschewismuss, 1922

Sale Date: November 20, 2021

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Ohne Titel (Acht), 1939

Kurt Schwitters

Ohne Titel (Acht), 1939

Sale Date: October 22, 2021

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel (aka) (Untitled (aka)), 1937–1938

Kurt Schwitters

Ohne Titel (aka) (Untitled (aka)), 1937–1938

Sale Date: September 17, 2021

Auction Closed

Plate 3, from Merz Mappe 3, 1923

Kurt Schwitters

Plate 3, from Merz Mappe 3, 1923

Sale Date: September 15, 2021

Auction Closed

Die Kathedrale, 1920

Kurt Schwitters

Die Kathedrale, 1920

Sale Date: September 16, 2021

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KLEINE DADA SOIRÉE. 1922, 1922

Kurt Schwitters

KLEINE DADA SOIRÉE. 1922, 1922

Sale Date: August 5, 2021

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Mz 259 Zeichnung Campendonk, 1921

Kurt Schwitters

Mz 259 Zeichnung Campendonk, 1921

Sale Date: July 1, 2021

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Ohne Titel (Ankündigungen), 1947

Kurt Schwitters

Ohne Titel (Ankündigungen), 1947

Sale Date: July 1, 2021

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Mz 94. Grünfleck, 1920

Kurt Schwitters

Mz 94. Grünfleck, 1920

Sale Date: July 1, 2021

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Untitled (Duke's Mixture), 1921–1922

Kurt Schwitters

Untitled (Duke's Mixture), 1921–1922

Sale Date: June 24, 2021

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Untitled (Verkade), 1929

Kurt Schwitters

Untitled (Verkade), 1929

Sale Date: June 24, 2021

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Oorlog, 1930

Kurt Schwitters

Sale Date: June 24, 2021

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel (Das Schachbild) (Untitled (The..., 1941

Kurt Schwitters

Ohne Titel (Das Schachbild) (Untitled (The..., 1941

Sale Date: June 16, 2021

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel (Express), 1947

Kurt Schwitters

Ohne Titel (Express), 1947

Sale Date: June 18, 2021

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel (Stilleben mit roten Blumen), 1914

Kurt Schwitters

Ohne Titel (Stilleben mit roten Blumen), 1914

Sale Date: June 11, 2021

Auction Closed

Ohne Titel (Schwarzes Gitter), 1932

Kurt Schwitters

Ohne Titel (Schwarzes Gitter), 1932

Sale Date: June 11, 2021

Auction Closed

KLEINE DADA SOIRÉE. Proof. 1922, 1922

Kurt Schwitters

KLEINE DADA SOIRÉE. Proof. 1922, 1922

Sale Date: May 13, 2021

Auction Closed

KLEINE DADA SOIRÉE. 1922, 1922

Kurt Schwitters

KLEINE DADA SOIRÉE. 1922, 1922

Sale Date: May 13, 2021

Auction Closed

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