Josef Albers

Sidney Janis Gallery, New York
Acquired by the present owner from the above in June 1964

Amherst, Massachusetts, Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Color Painting: A Special Loan Exhibition, February - March 1972, cat. no. 3, illustrated

The work is a "study for homage to the square." It is executed in oil on masonite, the rougher side of the masonite being painted with four squares which appear to be overlapping or nested within one another. Along the edges a line of the white primer is visible. As on all the work from "homage to the square," Albers noted all the media used on the back of the painting. The colors used in this work are (from center): Scheweringer Yellow LT Barium Yellow Brilliant Yellow Light Cadmium Yellow Pale Condition: The painting is in overall very good condition. In the outer square a 4 inch horizontal line of inpainting is visible under UV light on the lower right side. The work was recently cleaned by Contemporary Conservation Ltd., New York City at the recommendation of the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation. The colors are bright and fresh and the white primer margin is clean. The painting is framed in a period silver metal strip frame.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Seeing several of these paintings next to each other makes it obvious that each painting is an instrumentation of its own.  This means that they are all of different palettes, and, therefore, so to speak, of different climates.  Choice of color uses, as well as their order, is aimed at interaction -- influencing and changing each other forth and back.
Josef Albers

JOSEF ALBERS
from the Estate of Richard S. Zeisler, to Provide Funds for the Acquisition of Art by the National Gallery of Art, Washington

Sotheby's is delighted with the opportunity to offer the following four superb paintings by Josef Albers from his celebrated series Homage to the Square from the Estate of Richard S. Zeisler, to provide funds for the acquisition of art by the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.  Each painting is based on a similar four-square format of symmetrical, quasi-concentric squares.  The inclusion of these works is an especially intriguing study through which one can truly engage the artist's singular vision of color theory and practice.  The precisely composed squares of varying shades of color are balanced, one inside the other, on a masonite panel with paint applied directly from the tube as thinly and evenly as possible, thereby minimizing the effect of texture.  This composition allowed Albers to examine color and tonal relationships, and their emotive and psychological impact, in a relatively simple and stable format.  Alber's paintings are extremely rational constructs, pure statements of visual logic that have a feeling of the classic, the absolute, the timeless, like the work of Piet Mondrian, Ad Reinhardt and Barnett Newman.

Richard S. Zeisler was one of the last surviving members of the generation of New York collectors who began assembling art in earnest shortly after the second World War came to an end.  Following his move from Chicago to New York, he continued to manage his private investments while becoming increasingly involved with many of the city's cultural institutions including the Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center as well as many cultural institutions outside New York City.  In one sense he was a public figure, identifying closely with the inner workings of these powerful organizations, but central to these activities was a private passion, the assiduous pursuit of highly important works of 20^th Century Art.  In addition to the following four lots, other works to benefit the National Gallery of Art in this sale include a beautiful Paysage Magique from 1955 by Jean Dubuffet (lot 133) and works by Max Bill (lot 225) and Victor Vasarley (lot 238) reinforcing Mr. Zeilser's response to non-figurative art. 

Perhaps as a result of his Chicago connections, there was a strong focus on Surrealism in the Zeisler Collection with a major work by Matta titled Et At It from 1944 which will highlight Sotheby's Latin American Evening Sale on November 21st. Paul Delvaux's beautiful painting titled Les Dames aux cerfs volants from 1950 will be featured in Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern Art Evening sale on November 7^th.  Works by Juan Gris, August Herbin and Ben Nicholson will also be offered in Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern Day sale on November 8^th.  All the works included in this sale, each belong to an extraordinary body of paintings confirming Richard S. Zeisler's discerning taste and progressive approach to collecting.  

The Color in My Paintings: They are juxtaposed for various and changing visual effects.  They are to challenge or to echo each other, to support or oppose one another.  The contacts, respectively boundaries, between them may vary from soft to hard touches, may mean pull and push besides clashes, but also embracing, intersecting, penetrating.
Josef Albers