Kurt Schwitters

The London Gallery, London (on commission 1947-51)

E.L.T. Mesens, London (acquired in 1951)

Private Collection, Brussels (by descent from the above in 1971)

Galerie Beyeler, Basel (acquired from the above in 1973)

Galerie Gmurzynska, Cologne (acquired by 1978)

Gustav Stein, Lohmar-Honrath

Private Collection, Germany (by descent from the above in 1979)

Galerie Sander, Darmstadt

Private Collection, Darmstadt (acquired from the above in 1988)

Sale: Kunsthaus Lempertz, Cologne, May 31, 2011, lot 271

Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

(probably) London, The Modern Art Gallery, Paintings and Sculptures by Kurt Schwitters, 1944, no. 10c (titled Dance)

London, The London Gallery, An Hommage to Kurt Schwitters and Sculpture by Rolanda Polonsky and Recent Work by the English Painter Stella Snead, 1950, no. 33

Knokke-le-Zoute-Albert Plage, Grande Salle des Expositions de ‘La Réserve’, 75 Œuvres du demi-siècle, 1951, no. 60

Brussels, Palais des Beaux-Arts; Rotterdam, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen; Berlin, Neue Nationalgalerie; Milan, Palazzo Reale; Basel, Kunsthalle & Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Metamorphose des Dinges. Kunst und Antikunst 1910-1970, 1971-72, no. 217 (in Rotterdam); no. 138 (in Berlin)

Cologne, Galerie Gmurzynska, Kurt Schwitters, 1978, no. 83, illustrated in the catalogue

New York, The Museum of Modern Art; London, Tate Gallery & Hanover, Sprengel Museum, Kurt Schwitters, 1985-86, n.n., illustrated in the catalogue

Høvikodden, Henie Onstad Art Centre, Schwitters in Norway, 2009-10, no. 77, illustrated in color in the catalogue

London, Tate Britain & Hanover, Sprengel Museum, Schwitters in Britain, 2013, n.n., illustrated in color in the catalogue

Andreas Franzke, Skulpturen und Objekte von Malern des 20. Jahrhunderts, Cologne, 1982, fig. 124, illustrated n.p.

John Elderfield, Kurt Schwitters, London, 1985, no. 314, illustrated n.p. (titled Exhausted Dancer)

Kurt Schwitters (exhibition catalogue), Sprengel Museum, Hanover, 1986-87, fig. 7, illustrated p. 232 (titled Exhausted Dancer)

Marc Dachy, "The 27 senses of Kurt Schwitters or How to become an unpredictable violet (and flower in the dark)" in Benjamin Buchloh, ed., L'Ecrit et l'art II [Symposium June 1993], Villeurbanne, 1997, illustrated p. 143

Karin Orchard & Isabel Schulz, eds., Kurt Schwitters, Catalogue raisonné, Hanover, 2006, vol. III, no. 3050, illustrated p. 424; illustrated in color p. 361

Executed in 1943 while Schwitters was living in exile in England, Tänzer (Dancer) is one of the finest examples of sculpture from the artist’s late oeuvre.  Noting the importance of the present work, Megan Luke stated, “Dancer 1943 is singular for its attempt to represent a figure in its entirety, which Schwitters built up from a branch…. The limbs of this creature seem to reproduce like a cluster of polyps, its red-tipped extremities appear raw, almost bloodied, and its disjointed twisting leg and unsteady body underscore this corporeal vulnerability"(M. Luke in Schwitters in Britain (exhibition catalogue), op. cit., p. 46).”

Comprised of geometric and organic wooden forms, the present work is textured with plaster and painted with a boldly colored finish. The organic forms of the present work are undoubtedly inspired by the artist’s frequent trips to Norway .Throughout the 1930s Schwitters traveled to Norway to visit his son and immersed himself in the nature of the Moldefjord’s rural environment. As a result, Schwitters began to incorporate natural and organic forms in his sculptures.  According to Schwitters, “I live, paint and modelise [i.e., sculpt by modeling]. I do not write very much in the moment, and I believe that at the moment my best things are my small sculptures. They are so small that they may be easily transported, so that I could easily have an exhibition of them in the USA.” (Schwitters quoted in Schwitters in Britain (exhibition catalogue), op. cit., p. 42). Measuring just over 30 inches in height, Tänzer (Dancer) is one of the sculptures the artist made in England that was eminently portable and deliberately rootless. Unlike the site-specific sculptures executed earlier in his career, Schwitters’ production during his years in exile were capable of being transported from one location to another, reflecting the nomadic existence of the artist himself in his later years.