AMBLESIDE'S Armitt Museum has extended its collection of Kurt Schwitters memorabilia after buying two of his paintings.

With cash from the V&A Purchase Fund, an arm of the Arts Council England, The Art Fund, The Friends of the Armitt and a number of private supporters, the Rydal Road museum, which holds the largest permanent collection of Schwitters works on public display in the country, has bought The Old Mill, Ambleside (1945) and Vase of Flowers (1946).

The paintings were purchased from the family of Schwitters’ friend, the late Harry Bickerstaff.

"It is our ongoing plan to bring a wider audience to the importance of his work and, in particular, the scale of his labours in Ambleside," said curator Deborah Walsh.

"We are keen to acquire works by Schwitters, particularly those that are representative of his time in Ambleside and we are grateful to the V&A, The Art Fund,Tthe Friends of the Armitt and our private patrons for their continuing support. Schwitters and Ambleside are irrevocably linked."

The Armitt Museum currently has 27 works by Schwitters.

It also houses a large collection of Schwitters-related papers, letters, documents, videos, DVDs and sound recordings in its Merz Archive and in its library, the largest collection of literature relating to Schwitters outside the Sprengal Museum in Hanover.