Kurt Schwitters

Ernst Schwitters, Lysaker
Lord's Gallery, London
Ernst Schwitters, Lysaker & Galerie Gmurzynska, Cologne
May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, New York
Thence by descent

London, Lord's Gallery, Kurt Schwitters, October - November 1958, no. 32
Mailand, Galleria del Naviglio, Kurt Schwitters, April - May 1959, no. 11
Cambridge, Cambridge Arts Council Gallery; Swansea, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery; Sheffield, Graves Art Gallery; Leicester, Leicester Museum and Art Gallery; Coventry, Herbert Temporary Art Gallery; Glasgow, Glasgow University Print Room, Kurt Schwitters 1887-1948, November 1959 - May 1960, no. 37
Cologne, Galerie Gmurzynska, Klassische Moderne, May - August 1981, no. 166, p. 166, illustrated
Madrid, Fundación Juan March; Barcelona, Fundación Joan Miró, Kurt Schwitters, September 1982 - January 1983, no. 105
Paris, Centre Georges Pompidou; Valencia, IVAM Centre Julio González; Grenoble, Musée de Grenoble, Kurt Schwitters, November 1994 - November 1995, illustrated in color
Paris, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Années 30 en Europe 1929-1939. Le temps menaçant, February - May 1997, p. 287, illustrated in color
Leipzig, Museum der bildenden Künste; Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Kurt Schwitters. Eine Retrospektive / Kurt Schwitters. Ich ist Stil. I Is Style. Ik is stijl, February - August 2000, p. 132, illustrated in color
Basel, Kunstmuseum Basel, Schwitters Arp, May - August 2004, no. 135, p. 59, illustrated in color

Werner Schmalenbach, Kurt Schwitters, Munich, 1984, no. 139, illustrated
Jutta Nestegard, Kurt Schwitters i Norge, unpublished thesis, 1993, no. 114, illustrated
Klaus Stadtmüller, ed., Schwitters in Norwegen. Arbeiten, Dokumente, Ansichten, Hannover, 1997, p. 86, illustrated
Fernanda Lopes Torres, Merz: Enthusiasm, Dialogues, Melancholy. A study of the Work of Kurt Schwitters, unpublished thesis, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, 2001, illustrated in color
Karin Orchard & Isabel Schulz, eds., Kurt Schwitters, Catalogue Raisonné, vol. 3, Ostfildern-Ruit, 2006, no. 2109, pp. 40-41, illustrated

In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This work is an exquisite example of the artist's early Merz assemblages in which he used materials surrounding him in everyday life in an almost diaristic method. Here, Schwitters has created an arresting image by juxtaposing two exceedingly common wooden objects, one a simple plank and the other a gnarled twig. Schwitters uses the traditional media of oil paint in tandem with these elements, underscoring his belief in the equality of the materials.