Kurt Schwitters' Merzbarn put up for sale after ACE funding refusal

The Merzbarn, the only surviving Merz structure by Dadaist Kurt Schwitters (1887–1948), is to be sold after the Arts Council England (ACE) rejected a funding application for the fourth time. Built in 1948 in a barn near Elterwater, Langdale Valley, it was Schwitters' final work before his death. Most of the structure was moved to the Hatton Gallery in Newcastle in 1958 to protect it from weather. Artists Ian Hunter and Celia Larner, who maintain the site, oppose the sale. A storm last year nearly destroyed the barn, requiring costly repairs. Schwitters created three Merzbarns: the first in Hannover (1923–1937, destroyed by bombing), the second near Oslo (abandoned 1940, burned 1950), and this last one in England. The sale threatens public access to this pilgrimage site for contemporary art enthusiasts.