Collector’s Item: The Work-Life Balance of Josef and Anni Albers

Collector’s Item: The Work-Life Balance of Josef and Anni Albers

Photography by Henry Leutwyler

Shaped by Bauhaus ideals and their escape from Nazi Germany, the Albers became one of the 20th century’s most influential creative duos. Photographer Henry Leutwyler visits the Albers Foundation in Bethany, Connecticut, to examine its archives of experiments and ephemera, revealing the couple’s unpretentious way of life and serious approach to art and design.

Photography by Henry Leutwyler

Shaped by Bauhaus ideals and their escape from Nazi Germany, the Albers became one of the 20th century’s most influential creative duos. Photographer Henry Leutwyler visits the Albers Foundation in Bethany, Connecticut, to examine its archives of experiments and ephemera, revealing the couple’s unpretentious way of life and serious approach to art and design.

United in simplicity

Anni and Josef’s matching work jackets, possibly sewn by Anni, are preserved at the foundation, established in 1971. Anni, who died in 1994, occasionally sewed garments from simple patterns and was also known to wear her husband’s clothing.

Always experimenting, forever exacting

Clockwise from top left: Painter’s knives, which Josef emphasized were distinct from palette knives, used to apply rather than mix paint; a hammer with “Albers” hand-carved into the handle, still in use at the foundation; writing and sketching pencils; red paint tubes from multiple manufacturers; Josef’s model for a geometric decorative design to be installed above a fireplace in collaboration with architect King-lui Wu at Yale University; a pencil foil-stamped with “Josef Albers with love”; objects reflecting Josef’s exploration of color, light and geometry; paint tube lids gathered in a tray—left as they were at the time of Josef’s death; Henri Cartier-Bresson once told Josef that he painted “circular squares”—a description he cherished.

Always experimenting, forever exacting

Clockwise from top left: Painter’s knives, which Josef emphasized were distinct from palette knives, used to apply rather than mix paint; a hammer with “Albers” hand-carved into the handle, still in use at the foundation; writing and sketching pencils; red paint tubes from multiple manufacturers; Josef’s model for a geometric decorative design to be installed above a fireplace in collaboration with architect King-lui Wu at Yale University; a pencil foil-stamped with “Josef Albers with love”; objects reflecting Josef’s exploration of color, light and geometry; paint tube lids gathered in a tray—left as they were at the time of Josef’s death; Henri Cartier-Bresson once told Josef that he painted “circular squares”—a description he cherished.

Color study with pencil annotations, including Roman numerals—an element Josef, who died in 1976, also used in the titles of his final artworks.

Practically minded, imaginatively fashioned

Clockwise from top left: Textile tools including a yarn divider, combs and pegs; a necklace made from metal seals, part of a collection created by Anni with Alexander Reed; a mid-20th-century Bakelite magnifying glass; textile samples, including examples combining jute and metallic gold thread; textile-making equipment, including loom shuttles, heddles and a winding tool; a letter Josef sent to Anni in 1955, from Germany, likely while preparing to participate in the first Documenta exhibition in Kassel, West Germany; mini translation dictionaries. Anni was fascinated with language, was bilingual in German and English, and liked miniature versions of commonplace things; further necklaces fashioned from hardware—including a sink strainer, ball chain and paperclips—sometimes combined with grosgrain ribbon; spools of thread designed to fasten buttons and carpets.

Practically minded, imaginatively fashioned

Clockwise from top left: Textile tools including a yarn divider, combs and pegs; a necklace made from metal seals, part of a collection created by Anni with Alexander Reed; a mid-20th-century Bakelite magnifying glass; textile samples, including examples combining jute and metallic gold thread; textile-making equipment, including loom shuttles, heddles and a winding tool; a letter Josef sent to Anni in 1955, from Germany, likely while preparing to participate in the first Documenta exhibition in Kassel, West Germany; mini translation dictionaries. Anni was fascinated with language, was bilingual in German and English, and liked miniature versions of commonplace things; further necklaces fashioned from hardware—including a sink strainer, ball chain and paperclips—sometimes combined with grosgrain ribbon; spools of thread designed to fasten buttons and carpets.

Loom shuttles and metallic thread. Anni often struggled to get the right tools. At the Bauhaus, materials were limited, and when she arrived at Black Mountain College, there was nothing. She had to find what she could locally, but liked the idea of starting from scratch.

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