While there, he painted landscapes and portraits and often painted people's portrait instead of paying a bill. Perhaps the unknown man was a Cumbrian, perhaps a fellow prisoner-of-war, perhaps this was sketched in exchange for a free meal. The movement within the sketch, the rapidity with which it was clearly drawn is a reminder of Schwitters' energy for art and immediacy.

Provenance

Mrs George Mackereth, 1940s; by descent to Mrs Sally Pitt of Windermere.