Kurt Schwitters

Ernst Schwitters, Lysaker (by descent from the artist in 1948)
Galerie Samlaren (Agnes Widlund), Stockholm (acquired from the above in 1966)
Rune Högland, Stockholm (acquired in 1967)
Sale: Christie's, London, 29th November 1988, lot 424
Heiner Bastian Fine Arts, Berlin (acquired in 1991)
Helge Achenbach, Dusseldorf (acquired from the above in 1991; sale: Sotheby's, London, 23rd October 2001, lot 204)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Stockholm, Kunstsalongen Samlaren, Kurt Schwitters i svenskägo, 1967, no. 48
New York, Michael Werner Gallery, Kurt Schwitters, 1990
Dusseldorf, Achenbach Kunsthandel, Kurt Schwitters, 1993-94, list 1, no. 2
Zurich, Galerie Lelong, Kurt Schwitters, 1994, no. 15
New York, Galerie Michael Werner, Kurt Schwitters. Late Paintings and Collages, 1995, no. 13 
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Montreal, Musée des Beaux-Arts & Berlin, Staatliche Museum zu Berlin, Exiles and Emigrés: The Flight of European Artists from Hitler, 1997-98, no. 68, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
New York, Ubu Gallery, Kurt Schwitters, 2003, no. 63, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Leipzig, Museum der bildenden Künste & Amsterdam, Stedelijk Museum, Kurt Schwitters, I is Style, 2006, illustrated in colour in the catalogue
Hanover, Sprengel Museum & Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Merzgebiete Kurt Schwitters und seine Freunde, 2007, no. 260, illustrated in the catalogue

Karin Orchard & Isabel Schulz, Kurt Schwitters, Catalogue Raisonné, 1937-1948, Hanover, 2006, vol. III, no. 2948, illustrated p. 387 

Executed on brown paper, laid down on card. Apart from a small nick to the centre of the right edge and a nailhead-sized repaired loss to the centre of the upper edge, this work is in very good condition. Colours: There is slightly less red in the tones of the original.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Discussing the present work, Barbara Copeland Buenger explains, 'In W. C. Fields a piece of netting protectively covers a number of images apparently associated with Schwitters and (his son) Ernst: a children's war game; an envelope from Norway House, which then housed the Norwegian Ministry of Defense and might have been where Ernst worked; and a chicken opening its wings. The coloured illustration of a wood sculpture of W. C. Fields may stand in for Schwitters himself.  A torn label from the commercial fuel producer "Coalite...okeless coal" and two transit tickets might also refer to their activities: the two escapees from Nazi Germany had come to "co-alight" in London to make "better...cleaner fires." (B. Copeland Buenger, Exiles + Émigrés (exhibition catalogue), Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1997, pp. 82-83)