[ Kurt Schwitters at the Armitt ]
[ Alien at Ambleside ]
[ Merz Lives On ]
[ Dr G A Johnston ]
[ Wood on Wood ]
[ Newspaper "Collages" ]
[ KS - An Appreciation by Russell Mills ]

The reason why the art of Kurt Schwitters was pivotal to the development of art in the 20th Century was relatively simple. He took two dimensional collage and made it three dimensional and called the new art from Merz.

Born in Hanover in 1887, he studied art at Dresden, but it was not until the Dada movement of 1916 that he finally liberated himself from conventional art. Schwitters took from Dada the freedom to use what materials he wanted to in his pictorial compositions. He used bits of rubbish, bits society throws away, and by using litter from the gutter he challenged our value systems. He was a man with extraordinary imagination, and although he drew on the Dada philosophy, he rejected its basic negativity. It could be said that after his death Merz inspired the Pop Art movement of the 1950s/1960s.

One of the most important works of art he created was a sculpture which he called 'The Cathedral of Erotic Misery', or his Merzbau. The sculpture with its phallic column constantly evolved. It was unfinished because it was unfinishable; it was environmental and engulfing in scope, but its significance was that it marked the birth of installation or conceptual art that we see today. The Hanover Merzbau was destroyed by bombs in 1943.

Not only did Schwitters paint his Merz collages, and work on the sculpture, but he also wrote and performed his abstract poems, sounds without words. These became popular and Schwitters became quite a cabaret artist.

A mention should be made of the interest Schwitters always had in typography, and this enthusiasm led to him setting up his own advertising agency which proved financially successful. 

KS by El Lissitsky c1924
© DACS 2003
From the Armitt Collection

Hitler came to power in 1933 and many artists, Jews and non Jews fled Germany. In 1937 for a variety of compelling reasons Schwitters left Hanover for Norway, never to return to his home again. The Norwegian experience was mixed, but while there he started his second Merzbau. In 1940 Schwitters and his son fled to Britain where they were both interned on the Isle of Man. Afterwards Schwitters lived in London until the end of the war in 1945, when he moved to Ambleside where he remained until his death in poverty and obscurity in 1948.

Schwitters never received the recognition in Britain he had enjoyed in Europe, and his art did not sell. However, in 1947 he was fortunate enough to start his third Merzbau in a barn in Elterwater. Regrettably only a fragment was completed before his death, and this small monument to his genius can now be seen in the Hatton Gallery, Newcastle. 

The Armitt Collection in Ambleside is fortunate to own or have on loan some 18 works by Schwitters, including the fine portraits of Dr Johnston, Harry Pierce and his wife, his son Bill, and many others. The collection includes landscapes and a Merz assemblage entitled "Wood on Wood". There are also some pencil sketches on loan. The Schwitters exhibition is on permanent display, and is illustrated by a video recording made by the art critic William Feaver in 1977.

The Armitt Collection has the most extensive collection of books, biographies, catalogues, newspaper cuttings etc on the life of Kurt Schwitters, and this will provide students of the artist with a most valuable resource.

We would welcome an approach by anyone who might be willing to loan or donate to us for permanent display any of Schwitters' works or memorabilia, including photographs [please contact Tanya Flower on 015394 31212].

© Kurt und Ernst Schwitters Stiftung
From the Armitt Collection

 Enjoy a visit to our virtual Kurt Schwitters Gallery - Kurt Schwitters' Works at the Armitt Gallery

For a detailed account of Schwitters' years in Ambleside, follow this link on our site to  Alien at Ambleside. This is a mid 1970's Sunday Times magazine article by William Feaver.

The MerzBarn created at Cylinders Farm, Elterwater, was taken to Newcastle in the 60's - view at this link to see the structure in its present setting at The Hatton Gallery, at the University of Newcastle. However, follow this link on our site to see the Merzbarn in 1964 and today and view the main sculpture and its surroundings.

The definitive Kurt Schwitters website is, the Sprengel Museum Hanover.  For those whose German is inadequate, try the automatic Google translation of the Sprengel website at this link.
For more information about KS and related websites and a biography, visit Gwendolen Webster's excellent site: Kurt Schwitters  

Other examples of his work, including some of his famous 'Merz' collages can be seen locally in Kendal at The Abbot Hall Art Gallery [they are not always on display, but can be seen by prior appointment].  

The Armitt wishes to thank the Sprengel Museum, Hanover and the Kurt und Ernst Schwitters Stiftung for their continued assistance.