Ohne Titel (Glas auf Stein)

Details

Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948)
Ohne Titel (Glas auf Stein)
signed with initials and dated 'KS 47' (lower right)
painted stone, glass, leather and plaster assemblage on board laid down on panel
Height: 13 1/8 in. (33.4 cm.)
Length: 11 ½ in. (29.2 cm.)
Depth: 2 3/8 in. (6 cm.)
Executed in 1947

Provenance

Edith Thomas, London (by descent from the artist).
Hanover Gallery, London.
William N. Copley, New York (acquired from the above, 1960).
Barnet Hodes, Chicago; Estate sale, Christie's, New York, 12 November 1984, lot 38.
Acquired at the above sale by the late owner.

Literature

K. Orchard and I. Schulz, eds., Kurt Schwitters, Catalogue raisonné, 1937-1948, Bonn, 2006, vol. 3, p. 578, no. 3400 (illustrated).

Lot Essay

Schwitters’ late assemblages incorporate organic material and found objects, such as the painted stone and glass in the present work. In this series the artist replaced the mass-produced ephemera of previous years reflecting his move away from London to rural Cumbria in 1945. Through his use of found materials and the elevation of the discarded, Schwitters inspired post-war pioneers like Robert Rauschenberg, who, after viewing an exhibition of Schwitters' work at the Sidney Janis Gallery in 1959, said: "I felt like he made it all just for me."

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