Page 44 - Studio International - May 1969

Schwitters' 1 2

Merzbarn

Fred Brookes

3

In l 936, Kurt Schwitters, with his wife and he had no particular acquaintance with health was bad, and sometimes he could work
son, left Germany for Norway. He left behind modern painting he was much impressed with no more than a couple of hours a day. Wantee
him the Merzbau, in his house in Hanover. Schwitters' work and his ideas. He was one of and Jack Cook, a friend of Harry Pierce,
In Norway, he made a second Merzbau, the few people at that time who took Schwit­ helped out with mixing plaster and so on.
destroyed by fire in 1951. When the Germans ters' abstract work seriously. Mr Pierce Schwitters became very fond of the country­
invaded the country in 1940 Schwitters fled was a landscape gardener, and had turned side and used to take walks, picking up, as he
to England. After seventeen months in a 'Cylinders', his estate on the Langdale hillside, always did, any interesting stones or bits of
prisoner-of-war camp in the Isle of Man, he into a beautiful, wild-looking garden, full of wood which he encountered on the way. Some
joined his son Ernst in London, where he flowers, trees, and rare shrubs. He showed it of these were incorporated into the Merzbarn,
stayed until 1945. During this time he met to Schwitters on one of his visits. On the as was a good deal of the gardener's material
'Wantee', Edith Thomas, who became a good estate was a small barn, more or less empty, and general rubbish which lay about the barn.
friend, and after the end of the war they went and, after some prompting from Wantee, Schwitters worked on for about five months
on holiday together to the Lake District to Schwitters asked if he could use it for a new and then his health failed. He was taken to
recover from their wartime troubles. The holi­ Merzbau. Mr Pierce readily agreed. At about Kendal Hospital where he died on January 8,
day was to last the rest of Schwitters' life. He the same time Schwitters was awarded a 1948.
was able to make a living, just, by selling fellowship worth $1000 from the Museum of After Schwitters' death Mr Pierce took care
portraits and landscapes to local people. But Modern Art in New York, 'in order that you of the Merzbarn but gradually the effects
Schwitters had more important work in mind. may proceed with your plans for continuing of time and damp became apparent. The wall
While in London in 1943 he had learned that your work in creative fields and including was a rough affair with no damp course, and
his Merzbau, the enormous construction such restoration of the Merzbau as may be there was a bank of earth which rose three or
which had filled his house in Hanover, the possible.' And so he had a place to work, a four feet behind it. The climate is unusually
fruit of sixteen years work and the most com­ beautiful and stimulating environment, under­ moist in that part of the country and these
plete realization of his aims, had been des­ standing friends, and, on July 31 when the factors together brought about a gradual
troyed by Allied bombing. It might have been first $250 of his fellowship arrived, he had saturation of the wall and the plasterwork. In­
a crushing discouragement, but it made enough money. deed by 1965, when I first saw the wall, it was
Schwitters keen to begin work on a new large­ Conditions in the barn were not good. The literally wet to the touch. It was impossible to
scale enterprise. The combination of cir­ floor was only of earth, and a stream of water carry out preservation work under such con­
cumstances which enabled him to do so came ran across when it rained. The windows had ditions. Mr Pierce decided to offer the work as
in the middle of 194 7. no glass and the roof let in water, but Schwit­ a gift to a museum or gallery able to remove
Schwitters had met Harry Pierce through a ters would not wait for Mr Pierce to put and preserve it. After protracted negotiations
portrait commission and found in him a sym­ the place in order. He travelled out almost with a number of institutions, the Department
pathetic and understanding friend. He was a every day on the bus from Ambleside, where of Fine Art in Newcastle University undertook
man of knowledge and sensibility and though he and w·antee lived in a boarding house. His the removal, restoration and preservation of
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