Kurt Schwitters

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German artist Kurt Schwitters (1887–1948) is renowned for his groundbreaking fusion of collage and abstraction, pivotal innovations in twentieth-century art. Recognized as the father of installation art, Schwitters was also a theorist, Dadaist, and writer, influencing artists like Robert Rauschenberg and Eva Hesse. While his early collage and installation works have received significant acclaim, his later creations have often been overlooked. This book addresses that gap, revealing the compelling story of Schwitters’s work during his later years under the Nazi regime and in exile. Megan R. Luke combines new biographical insights with archival research to explore Schwitters’s spatial experiments and the evolution of his Merzbau. She examines his unconventional studios in Scandinavia and the UK, highlighting the smaller, quieter pieces he produced. Luke argues for the relevance of Schwitters’s aesthetic to contemporary artists, suggesting that his later works offer fresh narratives about modernism in visual arts. These pieces, shaped by his transient life post-exile, encourage a rethinking of art history that values itinerancy over identity and the power of humor over straightforward communication. Richly illustrated, this narrative completes the portrait of an artist whose influence endures.