Kurt Schwitters

Egon Östlund, Halmstad, Sweden (acquired directly from the artist in the 1920s)
A gift from the above to the present owner in 1958

Stockholm, Riksförbundet för Bildande Konst, Abstrakt och surrealstiskt ur Egon Östlunds samling, 1949, no. 6 (titled Komposition Collage)
Stockholm, Riksförbundet för Bildande Konst, Utställning för konsthögskolans elever, 1954
Stockholm, Galleri Samlaren, Collage eller fantastika realiteter, 1958, no. 39
Stockholm, Moderna Museet, Dada, 1966, no. 80
Vienna, Kunstforum Wien, Schwitters, 2002, no. 66, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Karin Orchard & Isabel Schulz, Kurt Schwitters, Catalogue Raisonné, 1923-1936, Hanover, 2003, vol. II, no. 1316, illustrated p. 166

Mixed media laid down on black paper attached to a card mount. There is an artist's pinhole to the centre of the lower edge. There is a thin line of paper abrasion to the red square and a 1.5cm. tear to the AgfaFilm section of the collage, possibly intrinsic to the materials used for the work rather than later damage. Apart from a 3cm. flattened crease below the isolated diamond element of the collage and a 1cm. flattened crease near the upper oblong, this work is in good condition. Colours: The colours are brighter and the red is more vibrant in the original.
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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."

Egon Östlund, the first owner of the present work, acquired Ohne Titel (Agfa-Filmpack) directly from the artist in Hanover while undertaking his engineering training in the city in the 1920s. Following his studies, Östlund returned to his homeland settling down in Halmstad where he supported a leading group of modern painters, the Halmstadgruppen.

'Merzbilder are abstract works of art. The work Merz denotes essentially the combination of all conceivable materials for artistic purposes, and technically the principle of equal evaluation of the individual materials. Merzmalerei makes use not only of paint and canvas, brush and palette, but of all materials perceptible to the eye and of all required implements. Moreover, it is unimportant whether the material used was already formed for some purpose or other. A perambulator wheel, wire-netting, string and cotton wheel are factors having equal rights with paint. The artist creates through choice, distribution and dematerialization of the materials.' Kurt Schwitters, 'Die Merzmalerei' in Der Sturm 10, no. 4, July 1919: 61