Collage , paper on paper. Monogrammed, dated, and titled in the lower left of the original mount. Once more titled inscribed “für Fräulein Elisabeth Köster in Barmen von Kurt Schwitters” on the reverse. 10.8 x 8.3 cm. Collage in mount section. Original mount: 20,8 x 15,6 cm.
. [AW].

• Early “Merz drawing” - from a period when the prominent Dadaist found his own innovative visual language.
• Kurt Schwitters radicalized abstract painting by eliminating all traces of personal style from his collages.
• From the collection of the Expressionist glass painter Elisabeth Coester (1900-1941) and in her family’s possession for over 80 years.
• Other famous “Merz drawings” are at, among others, the Tate Modern in London and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
LITERATURE: Karin Orchard, Isabel Schulz, Kurt Schwitters. Catalogue raisonné, ed. by the Sprengel Museum Hannover, Vol. 1: 1905-1922, Ostfildern 2000, CR no. 640 (illustrated in black and white).

Collection of Elisabeth Coester, Barmen (1920-1941; in an exchange). Otto Coester Collection, Düsseldorf and Wilhelmsdorf (1941-1990, inherited from the above) Christine Fausel Collection (since 1991, inherited from the above) Private collection, Southern Germany (gifted by the above in 2013)

In good condition. Even slight browning. Isolated small, faint creases and stains, likely resulting from the production. The original mount is browned and minimal wear along the outer edges. The inner edges of the hand-cut original mount have minor irregularities and flaws, some of which are due to the manufacturing process.