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A collage of black, brown, and red elements on tan paper

Colored scraps of paper, some of which have fragments of printed words, are arranged in an abstract composition. At the bottom edge a black rectangle sits at center. This is echoed above it in the middle of the piece by three longer, gently arcing scraps of the same black paper that curve in from the right edge. To the left of these, three red scraps appear as points of a triangle. The lowest one, at the extreme left edge bears the letters, “KA” in white. The letters “KAO” appear on a red scrap just above center and a third scrap of the same red paper has no lettering. At the top, just left of center, a red number “13” is printed on a tan square. Variously sized mid tone brown paper and fabric elements are laid all around in slightly overlapping fashion.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1987.82
People
Kurt Schwitters, German (Hanover, Germany 1887 - 1948 Kendal, England)
Title
Untitled
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
c. 1922
Culture
German
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/299954

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Paper and fabric collage elements and graphite on brown wove paper
Technique
Collage
Dimensions
29.7 x 24.1 cm (11 11/16 x 9 1/2 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
The Fredric Wertham Collection, gift of his wife Hesketh; to the Busch-Reisinger Museum, 1987.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Busch-Reisinger Museum, The Fredric Wertham Collection, Gift of his wife Hesketh
Accession Year
1987
Object Number
1987.82
Division
Modern and Contemporary Art
Contact
am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Masterpieces of world art : Fogg Art Museum, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Busch-Reisinger Museum, 1997
  • Peter Nisbet and Joseph Koerner, The Busch-Reisinger Museum, Harvard University Art Museums, ed. Peter Nisbet, Harvard University Art Museums and Scala Publishers Ltd. (Cambridge, MA and London, England, 2007), p. 135
  • Isabel Schulz, ed., Kurt Schwitters: Color and Collage (2010), Cat. 29, p. 46, illus.

Exhibition History

  • Kurt Schwitters, Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig, 01/27/2000 - 03/26/2000
  • Kurt Schwitters: Color and Collage, Menil Collection, Houston, 10/22/2010 - 01/30/2011
  • 32Q: 1520 Art in Germany Between the Wars (Interwar and Bauhaus), Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 05/06/2015; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 08/10/2016 - 10/19/2016

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Modern and Contemporary Art at am_moderncontemporary@harvard.edu