For K S Dreier Viel Freude! (For K S Dreier Much Joy!)

October 3, 1937

In 1946, after World War II, Katherine Dreier managed to locate and reconnect with her old friend Kurt Schwitters. From his recently established residence in England, he sent her a number of new collages, including this one dedicated to her. Schwitters considered even modest works such as this collage to be complete and concise statements of his Merz aesthetic. Schwitters’s delicate association of distinct geometric elements in this work belies the strength of the composition, a characteristic of Schwitters’s art that Dreier greatly admired.

Medium: Collage of paper and wax paper on board
Dimensions: image: 5 3/8 × 2 11/16 in. (13.6 × 6.8 cm)
sheet: 5 15/16 × 3 13/16 in. (15.1 × 9.7 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of the Estate of Katherine S. Dreier
Accession Number: 1953.6.196
Geography: Made in Germany
Culture: German
Period: 20th century
Classification: Collages
Disclaimer: Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance

Gift of the artist to Katherine S. Dreier, 1937-1952; YUAG, Katherine S. Dreier Bequest, 1953.

Bibliography

Frauke V. Josenhans et al., Artists in Exile: Expressions of Loss and Hope (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 2017), 256

Ruth L. Bohan et al., The Société Anonyme: Modernism for America, ed. Jennifer Gross, exh. cat. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 2006), 205, ill.

Object copyright

In Copyright

Additional information

Object/Work type

collages

Inscriptions

Inscribed in graphite LL: "FOR K S DREIER"; in far LR corner: "VIEL FREUDE!"

Signed

Signed and date in graphite LR: "K. SCHWITTERS / OSLO 18.3.37"

Technical metadata and APIs

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