With its proximity to the cultural hub of New York City and its quieter suburban and rural landscapes, Connecticut was fertile ground for artists and writers in the period of Modernist movements between 1913 and 1979. Many of these cultural figures are well known through biographical and critical studies. Creative Places seeks to show how place played a significant role in creative work, and how in turn the artists and writers influenced communities in Connecticut.
Josef Albers
Architecture/Design, Education/Curation, Painting/Drawing, Printmaking
1888 – 1976
Bauhaus trained artist. Taught courses at the Bauhaus as well as at the Black Mountain College in North Carolina and at Yale University. He also practiced art with stained glass, painting, and making prints, as well as writing.
- Biography/Description of Work
Josef Albers was born in 1888 in Bottrop, Germany. In 1902 he attended a preparatory teacher’s training school and after, attended a teachers’ college in Buren. He began teaching at public schools in 1908. From 1913-1915, he studied at the Royal Art School in Berlin, but in 1920, Albers enrolled at the Bauhaus in Weimar. He taught a course in 1923 and by 1925 he was made “Bauhaus Master.” Josef Albers met Annelise (Anni) Fleischmann when she enrolled in the Bauhaus in 1922. They were married in 1925. Albers was made assistant director of the Bauhaus in 1930, but by 1933, after the Bauhaus closed, the Albers moved to North Carolina to teach at the Black Mountain College. In 1949, Albers resigned from Black Mountain College and in 1950 he was named Chair of the Department of Design at Yale. He remained in this position until 1958. Josef Albers died in New Haven in 1976. Throughout his life he wrote, painted, and made prints. He also worked with stained glass, and taught a generation of art students.
- Sources view
- “Josef Albers, 88, Noted Artist, Dies,” The Hartford Courant (1923-1990). March 27, 1976. Accessed December 8, 2015 http://search.proquest.com/docview/544422679?accountid=10341; Josef and Anni Albers Foundation. Accessed December 8, 2015 http://www.albersfoundation.org/
- Associated Resource(s)