Josef Albers (1888 - 1976)

Born 19 Mar 1888 in Bottrop, Recklinghausen, Westfalen, Preußen

Husband of Annelise Else Frieda (Fleischmann) Albers — married 1925 in Weimar, Thüringen, Deutsches Reich

Died 25 Mar 1976 at age 88 in New Haven, Connecticut, United States

Biography

Joseph Albers was a German-born artist and educator. The first living artist to be given a solo show at MoMA and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, he taught at the Bauhaus and Black Mountain College, headed Yale University's department of design, and is considered one of the most influential teachers of the visual arts in the twentieth century.

Joseph Albers was born in 1888 in Bottrop. He was born into a Roman Catholic family of craftsmen in Bottrop, Westphalia, Germany in 1888. His father, Lorenz Albers, was variously a housepainter, carpenter, and handyman. His mother came from a family of blacksmiths.

He married Elsa Frieda Fleischmann on 9 May 1925 in Berlin.

The example of Josef Albers and of his wife, Anni, shows that the extraordinary influence that the Bauhaus has had in America was by no means limited to the field of architecture. Josef Albers, painter, philosopher, teacher and writer, taught at the Bauhaus in Dessau from 1923 until its dissolution in 1933. The ascetic discipline of his paintings on glass of that time "created a new language in painting" (Eugene Grominger), "Since his days at the Bauhaus, Albers pursued one and the same idea--to grasp and understand the world through images, from a visual perspective"(Will Grohman)

In his paintings and graphic designs, which made him famous after his emigration to America -- and among which the series "Homage To The Square" has become the best known -- Albers "Rejected accidental effects and limited emotional factors to a minimum" (Ruth Gilbert) As a teacher, Albers was of uncommon importance in the United States too. He taught at Black Mountain Collage in North Carolina and later at Yale University, where he became Dean of the School of Architecture and Design. Among other things, Albers is considered a forerunner of Op Art.

Albers was a member of the National Institute of Art and Letters and in 1968 was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Josef Albers' paintings and graphic works are exhibited by many European and American museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum in New York. ^[1]

This profile is a collaborative work-in-progress. Can you contribute information or sources?

Sources

1. ↑ Gerard Wilk, Americans from Germany, Second Printing, German Information Center, Second printing 1987(copywrite 1976), page 1

• "Berlin, Germany, Marriages, 1874-1936", Landesarchiv Berlin; Berlin, Deutschland; Personenstandsregister Heiratsregister; Certificate Number: 258, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2957 #189563880 (accessed 16 May 2023), Josef Albers (37) marriage to Elsa Frieda Fleischmann on 9 May 1925 in Berlin, Berlin, Deutschland (Germany).
• "New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957", Year: 1933; Arrival: New York, New York, USA; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Line: 1; Page Number: 68, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7488 #2016690367 (accessed 16 May 2023), Name: Josef Albers; Gender: Male; Ethnicity/ Nationality: German; Marital status: Married; Age: 45; Birth Date: abt 1888; Birth Place: Germany; Other Birth Place: Bottrop; Last Known Residence: Berlin, Germany; Departure Port: Bremen, Germany; Arrival Date: 24 Nov 1933; Arrival Port: New York, New York, USA; Final Destination: Blue Ridge, North Carolina; Years in US: Always; Citizenship Intention: Yes; Height: 5 Feet, 8 Inches; Hair Color: Blonde; Eye Color: Green; Complexion: Fair; Money in Possession: 1000; Person in Old Country: L. Albers; Person in Old Country Relationship: Father; Person in Old Country Residence: Norsterstr. 18, Bottrop, Germany; Father: L. Albers; Ship Name: Europa.
• "1940 United States Federal Census", Year: 1940; Census Place: Swannanoa-Grovemont, Buncombe, North Carolina; Roll: m-t0627-02878; Page: 29B; Enumeration District: 11-58, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2442 #152403701 (accessed 16 May 2023), Josef Albers (51), married professor, Professor, in household of Kenneth Koretz (33) in Swannanoa-Grovemont, Buncombe, North Carolina. Born in Germany.
• "1950 United States Federal Census", United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: New York, New York, New York; Roll: 4562; Sheet Number: 13; Enumeration District: 31-1317, Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 62308 #287050802 (accessed 16 May 2023), Josef Albers (62), married, Asst Proffessor, head of household in New York, New York, New York, USA. Born in Germany.
• "Connecticut Death Index, 1949-2012", Connecticut Department of Health. Connecticut Death Index, 1949-2001. Hartford, CT, USA: Connecticut Department of Health, Ancestry Record 4124 #655444 (accessed 16 May 2023), Josef Albers death 25 Mar 1976 (age 88 years) in New Haven, Connecticut.
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16028856/josef-albers: accessed 16 May 2023), memorial page for Josef Albers (19 Mar 1888–25 Mar 1976), Find A Grave: Memorial #16028856, citing Orange Center Cemetery, Orange, New Haven County, Connecticut, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.

See also:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Albers