ARTWORK by one of the biggest names in contemporary culture has given a £150,000 boost to a Lakeland project.

A painting donated to Littoral Arts Trust (LAT) by Damien Hirst to help bolster the Kurt Schwitters Merz Barn restoration fund having sold at auction at Sotheby’s.

Schwitters had been a major influence on Hirst.

And the picture, part of Hirst’s Spin series, took centre stage at the Merz Barn site, at Cylinders, Elterwater, in April, before heading to London for auction, where it is understood to have been snapped up by a Russian buyer.

The sale was originally pencilled in for May, but deferred until October 16.

A further £30,000 was also raised for the Merz project, with a drawing by Anthony Gormley and work by Ambleside artist Jane Exley also going under the hammer.

Littoral director Iain Hunter said he was thrilled by the outcome of the sale, the proceeds of which will help rebuild the famous Merz Barn, as well as develop children’s art projects and support Lakeland artists.

But, even with £180,000 in the bank, LAT’s £750,000 target for the rebuild is still some way off.

“We’re going forward slowly but modestly,” Mr Hunter said.

“We will do a second round of fund-raising next year. And we’re optimistic we’ll get a lot of community support.”

Tate Gallery director Sir Nicholas Serota, has also pledged his support, accord-ing to Mr Hunter, who said Sir Nicholas had agreed to stage a major exhibition of Kurt Schwitters’ work at the Tate during the next couple of years – including artwork created during the German artist’s time in Cumbria.

Cylinders – part of the former gunpower works at Elterwater – was bought in 1944 by landscape gardener Harry Pierce, but was sold to the LAT in 2006, thanks to a grant from Northern Rock.

Hanover-born Schwitters was driven out of Germany by the Nazis, fleeing to Norway, before eventually arriving in the Lake District.

He worked in several genres but is best-known for his Merzbau installations – abstract collages using materials from everyday life.

He set about creating his final Merzbau at Cylinders before he was taken ill and died in 1948.

The piece, moved to Newcastle University during the 1960s, is regarded by many as an important work of 20th Century European art.