Schwitters built an artwork inside his house in Hanover. Starting around 1923, the Merzbau grew outward from a column of collaged objects in his studio until there was barely room to live. He worked on it for sixteen years. Allied bombing destroyed it in 1943. He built a second Merzbau in Lysaker, Norway. The Nazis invaded; he abandoned it. It burned down in 1951. He started a third at Cylinders Farm in the English Lake District. He died in January 1948, leaving it unfinished.
Key facts
Biography
He was born in Hanover in 1887, an only child whose father ran a ladies' clothing shop. He suffered from epilepsy throughout his life. He fled to Norway in 1937, then to Scotland in 1940, where he was classified as an enemy alien and interned in camps including Hutchinson Camp on the Isle of Man. While interned, he allegedly made small sculptures from leftover oatmeal.
His art, which he called Merz (a fragment of the word Kommerz), used collage, found objects, poetry, sound art, typography, and installation. He worked across Dadaism, Constructivism, and Surrealism, often simultaneously. He was largely neglected by the time he died.
Timeline
- 1887Born Kurt Hermann Eduard Karl Julius Schwitters in Hanover, Germany, the only child of Eduard Schwitters and his wife Henriette.
- 1919Invented Merz at 32 in Hanover, a personal art concept encompassing collage, assemblage, poetry and performance, built from everyday refuse like bus tickets and cigarette wrappers.
- 1923Launched the magazine MERZ at 36 in Hanover, which he published for nearly a decade as a vehicle for Dada and constructivist ideas.
- 1927Had been building the Merzbau inside his Hanover house for several years by 40, a sprawling three-dimensional assemblage that consumed room after room over 16 years.
- 1937Fled to Norway at 50 after the Nazi regime declared his work degenerate. He began constructing a second Merzbau in Lysaker, outside Oslo.
- 1940Escaped to England at 53 following the German invasion of Norway. He was interned as an enemy alien on the Isle of Man before settling in London.
- 1947Began his third and final Merzbau (the Merzbarn) in a barn at Elterwater in the Lake District at 60, funded by a fellowship from the Museum of Modern Art.
- 1948Died in Kendal, England at 60, leaving the Merzbarn unfinished. His original Hanover Merzbau had been destroyed by Allied bombing in 1943.
Notable Works
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Where to See Kurt Schwitters
1 museum worldwide.
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3 works
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Upper East Side, United States
Related Artists
Frequently Asked Questions
How did kurt schwitters die?
Kurt Schwitters died in 1948 at the age of 61.Kurt schwitters art movement?
Schwitters experimented with Cubist and Expressionist styles. He also worked across Dadaism, Constructivism, and Surrealism, often simultaneously.Was kurt schwitters a dadaist?
Kurt Schwitters was a Dadaist. Some considered him a natural-born Dadaist, while others thought he was an accidental one.What is kurt schwitters known for?
Kurt Schwitters is known for formulating the concept of Merz in 1919. This permitted the use of any materials for collages and paintings with collage elements. Throughout the 1920s, he created a construction called Merzbau, which grew to fill his home.What materials did kurt schwitters use?
Schwitters created pictures made of waste materials. He began this practice in 1919, one year after the end of the First World War, and called them Merz pictures.Where did kurt schwitters live?
Kurt Schwitters was born in Hanover. He also lived in Dresden and Berlin, where he studied.Who is kurt schwitters?
Herman Edward Karl Julius Schwitters was born in Hanover on 20 June 1887. He attended the Kunstgewerbeschule in Hanover from 1908 to 1909, and from 1909 to 1914, he studied at the Kunstakademie Dresden.Who was kurt schwitters?
Herman Edward Karl Julius Schwitters was born in Hanover on 20 June 1887. He attended the Kunstgewerbeschule in Hanover from 1908 to 1909, and from 1909 to 1914, he studied at the Kunstakademie Dresden.When was kurt schwitters born?
Kurt Schwitters was born in 1887 in Germany. Kurt Schwitters died in 1948, aged 61.What art movement is kurt schwitters associated with?
Schwitters experimented with Cubist and Expressionist styles. He also worked across Dadaism, Constructivism, and Surrealism, often simultaneously.Why was kurt schwitters exiled?
Schwitters fled his homeland in 1936 because of signs of impending danger. This was partly due to his prominence as a 'degenerate' artist.What is merz kurt schwitters?
Merz was a concept formulated by Kurt Schwitters in 1919. It permitted the use of any and all materials for collages and paintings with collage elements.
Sources
Editorial draws on the following primary and tertiary references for Kurt Schwitters.
- [1] museum Buffalo AKG Art Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [2] museum Institut Valencià d'Art Modern Used for: museum holdings.
- [3] museum Sprengel Museum Used for: museum holdings.
- [4] museum Musée Granet Used for: museum holdings.
- [5] museum Staatsgalerie Stuttgart Used for: museum holdings.
- [6] museum Finnish National Gallery Used for: museum holdings.
- [7] book guggenheim-futurismmodernfo00solo Used for: biography.
- [8] book guggenheim-guhe00solo Used for: biography.
- [9] book guggenheim-handboo00pegg Used for: biography.
Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-05-31. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.
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