Series Descriptions

Subgroup: Josef Albers, 1910-1980 (bulk 1940-1975)

Series I. Correspondence, 1925-1976 (bulk 1934-1975) (33 boxes)
This series contains personal and professional correspondence with individuals and institutions and organizations, documenting Josef Albers's personal and professional life. The series consists of the following six subseries: Individuals, Institutions/Organizations, Between Josef and Anni, Birthday, German Officials, and Permissions. Note that typescript carbons of letters Anni Albers written on behalf of Josef Albers are throughout the series and all letters to and from the Alberses are in this series. Photographs and printed materials received as enclosures remain with the original letter.

The Correspondence with Individuals subseries includes letters between Josef Albers and family, friends, colleagues, and various individuals that Josef likely never met. Of note are correspondents Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe, Franz Grosse Perdekamp, Hannes Meyer, Herbert Bayer, Buckminster Fuller, Ruth Asawa, Ray Johnson, John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Ted and Bobbi Dreier, Inge and Otl Aicher-Scholl, Robert Osborn, Maximilian Schell, and two humorous letters expressing dismay at Josef's success. Correspondence with Betty Seymour and Jane Slater Marquis reveal intimate relationships with Josef and includes poems written by Josef.

The Correspondence with Institutions and Organizations subseries includes letters between Josef Albers and various institutions and organizations. Included among this subseries is correspondence regarding solo and group exhibitions and artwork gifts, sales and loans. Of note is correspondence with the American Council on Education, the Art Institute of Chicago, Bauhaus Archiv, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Galerie Denise Rene, the Museum of Modern Art, Eastman and Eastman (including third party correspondence), Sidney Janis Gallery, Staedtische Kunsthalle Duesseldorf, Wesfaelisches Landesmuseum fuer Kunst und Kulturgeschichte, Yale University, and correspondence between Ives-Sillman and Eastman and Eastman regarding the dissolution of Josef's professional and personal relationship with Norman Ives and Si Sillman.

The Correspondence between Josef and Anni subseries is primarily comprised of correspondence between Josef and Anni Albers during the time they spent apart as Josef traveled. Most of the correspondence is from Josef to Anni. The correspondence includes rich accounts of Josef's travels and teaching, betraying their great love not only as man and wife but also as companions in art.

The Birthday Correspondence subseries consists of letters and cards to Josef Albers on his various birthdays. This material reveals the reverence that so many of Josef's friends and colleagues had for him and the importance of these occasions for Josef. Robert Osborn's cards are particularly colorful and celebratory.

The Correspondence with German Officials subseries regards Josef Albers's pension from teaching in Germany.

The Permissions Correspondence subseries contains letters of request, reply and agreement regarding permission to reproduce Josef Albers's work in various formats. Correspondence is with individuals and organizations, including publishing companies.

Series II. Professional Papers, 1925-1980 (bulk 1940-1975) (approximately 48 boxes) This series contains extensive materials relating to Josef Albers's professional life as an educator and as a visual artist in a variety of mediums. The series consists eleven subseries: Teaching, Project Files, Solo Exhibitions, Group Exhibitions, Architectural Commissions, Awards and Honorary Degrees, Notebooks, Work Lists, Color Research, Interviews, and Bibliographies and Biographies.

Teaching includes materials created and collected by Josef Albers in his capacity as a teacher and administrator at the Bauhaus in Weimar and Dessau, Germany; at Black Mountain College in Black Mountain, North Carolina, United States; at Hochschule fur Gestaltung (HfG), Ulm, Germany; and finally at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States.

Materials regarding the Bauhaus include correspondence, course descriptions, meeting minutes, and printed materials. Of note is the material regarding the closure and reopening of the school in 1933. Other material relating to the Bauhaus is found in the Subject Files series.

The bulk of the subseries is contained in the Black Mountain College materials, which includes correspondence, administrative files, speeches, writings by Josef and other faculty members on the college, reports, lists, printed materials on the college, course descriptions and notes, teaching notes, and songs written by students about the college. Highlights of the materials include the Alberses' first letters from the United States to friends in Germany; a eulogy for Mark Dreier written by Josef; letters regarding the resignation of Jonathan Andrew Rice, Josef Albers and Ted Dreier; Josef's logo design for the college; several speeches by Josef given around the country to grow support for the college; course notes of Si Sillman and Harry Seidler; a humorous birthday card made by students for Josef; and the near complete run of Black Mountain College Bulletins.

Josef's time as visiting professor at the Hochschule fur Gestaltung in Ulm is reflected in correspondence and printed materials, including correspondence with school founders Inge Aicher-Scholl and Max Bill, and colleague Gui Bonsiepe. Of note is the report by Josef on his course in basic drawing, design and color and the various notes and documents collected by Josef relating to the school.

Materials regarding Josef's tenure as professor at Yale University in the newly formed School of Design and following his retirement is primarily documented through correspondence, notes and printed materials. Included among the materials is a 1961 petition requesting that Josef return as a visiting painting critic, "Ten Commandments for Color Course" (author unidentified), and the various Yale publications with contents on Josef.

Finally, the subseries includes various teaching materials demonstrating Josef's teaching exercises employed throughout his career, such as Matiere materials, typofacture materials, sketches and drawings, and various printed materials.

It is important to note that Josef disliked administrative work and avoided generating material in the conduct of administrative affairs if he could. Therefore, there are not many files reflecting his administrative work found in the subseries.

The subseries Project Files consists of materials pertaining to prints, paintings, glass works, lettering, and various other projects completed by Josef Albers, often in collaboration with a printmaker or other organization. Of note among the materials are correspondence, print documentation, lists and notes related to print portfolios made in collaboration with Gemini G.E.L., Ives-Sillman, Tamarind Lithography Workshop, and Tyler Workshop. The bulk of material relating to Josef's lettering is found in this subseries, containing studies, writings, photographs and printed materials on his Kombinationschrift alphabet. Other highlights include a clipping with Josef's design for the National Gallery of Art Science Stamp Competition, a drawing of the IV Bienal Americana de Grabado-Santiago Chile poster design, an example of the Container Corporation logo design, and instructions with drawings to build a wren house.

Solo and Group Exhibition subseries comprise the bulk of the series and include catalogs, brochures, publicity, condition reports, shipment forms, work lists and notes. This subseries reveals Josef Albers's long career exhibiting his work throughout the world. Of note among the large number of exhibition files are materials relating to a major solo exhibition, "Josef Albers," organized by the Museum of Modern Art, New York, that traveled in South America, Mexico, and the United States from 1965 to 1967; and "Josef Albers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art," a retrospective of his work held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York in 1971, making Josef the first living artist to have a retrospective at the museum. Among the group exhibition files, highlights include the materials pertaining to the exhibitions "Josef and Anni Albers: Paintings, Tapestries and Woven Textiles," at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, CT in 1953 and "The Responsive Eye," at Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1965.

The Architectural Commissions subseries contains correspondence, photographs, negatives, transparencies, plans, contracts, drawings, writings and publicity documenting the various architectural projects of Josef Albers's commissioned by others. The earliest commission was a stained glass work, Rosa mytica ora pro nobis, circa 1916-1917 in St. Michael's Church, Bottrop. The piece was destroyed and there is little existing documentation regarding its existence. His last work, Stanford Wall, was commissioned by Stanford University and due to various complications wasn't completed before his death, finally seeing completion in 1980. Josef's highest profile commissions were by Pan American Building (current Met Life Building) in New York, Manhattan, in 1963; and Landesmuseum fuer Kunst und Kulturgeschichte in Munster, Two Supraportas, in 1972.

The Awards and Honorary Degrees subseries includes correspondence, awards, photographs, writings, speeches, publicity, medals, rings and cufflinks from the universities, colleges, and professional organizations that bestowed awards and honorary degrees upon Josef Albers. Of particular importance to Josef Albers was the 1959 Ford Foundation Fellowship that made much of his work on Interaction of Color possible; the 1958 Conrad von Soest Prize; the Graham Foundation 1962 grant as co-recipient with Paul Rudolph for a sculpture commission for Yale Art and Architecture building, resulting in the sculpture Repeat and Reverse; the 1962 Honorary Degree of Doctor of Fine Arts from Yale University; the American Institute of Architects 1974 Fine Arts Medal Nomination; and the various awards from the state of Bottrop.

Notebooks include lists of private and public collectors, works sent to galleries and individuals, notes and writings, lists of people that books were sent to, general lists of works and comments made on works. Of note is a portion of a notebook that contains a detailed description of Josef Albers's painting methods. The Worklists subseries is similar to the notebooks subseries in its content but contains loose sheets of paper and additionally includes insurance values and collection reports.

The Color Research subseries is comprised of materials collected or created by Josef Albers over the span of his career. It includes commercially produced materials on color, including Color-aid Paper; correspondence, sketches and notes regarding color; and various printed materials on color.

The Interviews subseries contains printed interviews conducted with Josef Albers. A highlight of the subseries is the 1967 transcript typescript with handwritten corrections from the interview by Martin Duberman of Josef and Anni Albers. Materials from this interview was included in Duberman's 1972 book Black Mountain College: An Exploration in Community, an important book on Black Mountain College but one that Josef and Anni took issue with due to alleged misinformation.

Bibliographies and Biographies includes handwritten, photocopied and citations of bibliographies of publications on and by Josef Albers and biographies and biographical notes on Josef Albers. This subseries also contains submitted biographical entries and correspondence with biographical publications. A highlight is Josef Albers's undated notes and lists regarding a rough arrangement of his personal papers.

Series III. Writings, 1928-1977 (bulk 1950-1970) (21.5 boxes)
The Writing Series in the Josef Albers subgroup documents Josef Albers's extensive writings throughout his life and includes writings of others. The series consists of three subseries: Books, Various and Lectures.

The Books subseries includes handwritten and typed drafts, page and plate proofs, correspondence, contracts, notes, lists, publicity, and printed materials pertaining to books written by or in collaboration with Josef Albers, including various editions of each. Books include the monograph Josef Albers by Eugen Gomringer, which Josef played a large part in the production of (note that this subseries contains nearly all of the subgroup's correspondence between Eugen Gomringer and Josef Albers); Despite Straight Lines by Francois Bucher; Formulation: Articulation, a print portfolio included in this subseries due to extensive text by Josef; his most important publication and among his most important teaching contributions, Interaction of Color; Poems and Drawings; and Search versus Re-Search: Three Lectures by Josef Albers at Trinity College. This subseries contains a wealth of material demonstrating Josef's commitment to art and art education.

The Various subseries contains writings by Josef Albers, with writings by others on Josef Albers, and writings by other on topics not related to Josef Albers. The bulk of the subseries is handwritten and typescript drafts and printed versions of poems, statements and general writings by Josef Albers. Often these writings appeared in various publications. Titles contained in brackets represent the first line of an untitled writing or the general topic. Highlights include the grouping of writings titled "I Remember," which contain various memories of Josef's and the grouping titled "My Book," which contains various writings put together by Josef for an unfinished book of writings; a facsimile score of Six Melodies for Violin and Keyboard (for Josef and Anni Albers) by John Cage; and an untitled statement on Walter Gropius for an unfinished book on Gropius by Xanti Schawinsky. Most handwritten and typescript versions of poems included in Poems and Drawings are in this subseries. There is a large number of loose leaves with fragments of writings and notes by Josef, both sorted and unsorted.

Lectures includes handwritten and typescript drafts and printed versions of lectures written by Josef Albers with publicity for various lectures. There are often many versions of one lecture, as Josef reworked many of them and presented several versions of the same lectures. This subseries contains versions of "Art Education and General Education=Possessive or Productive" and "On Education and Art Education." Of note among the lectures is the 1953 lecture "Photos as Photography and Photos as Art," one of the view pieces of writing by Josef regarding photography, and his lecture "On Teaching Art to Youngsters."

Series IV. Personal, 1910-1974, undated (2 boxes)
The Personal series in the Josef Albers subgroup document Josef's life outside of his career, including his family's life. Among the materials in the Personal series there are documents relating to Josef Albers's family; his academic records; birth, marriage and identification papers; and his will.

Series V. Financial, 1949-1976 (bulk 1967-1975) (13 boxes)
The Financial series contains used and unused checks, receipts, bills, lists, and tax forms.

Series VI. Postcard Collection (Collages and Loose), undated (4 boxes)
This series consists of postcards collected by Josef and Anni Albers during their travels throughout the United States, Europe and Latin America. The bulk of them are loose and all are arranged by location. Josef created postcard collages with a portion of them. Highlights of the postcards include colorful postcards from Hawaii and the continental United States and photograph postcards from various states in Mexico portraying places that Josef and Anni Albers visited. Postcards by Hugo Brehme are included among them.

Series VII. Holiday Cards, circa 1934-1960 (1 box)
The Holiday Cards series contains the holiday cards designed by Josef and Anni Albers that the couple sent to friends. These cards are considered among the works of art created by the couple. The Alberses made their first one in circa 1934-1935 and stopped making them in 1960. They are beautifully designed and are often playful. Of note among the cards is one designed by Anni Albers and Alex Reed at Black Mountain College, circa 1940.

Series VIII. Subject Files, circa 1925-1976 (bulk 1950-1976) (9 boxes)
The Subject Files series includes printed materials collected by Josef Albers on individuals, including artists and other notable people, various subjects relating to art and education and the Bauhaus. Josef often handwrote comments on the printed materials.

Series IX. Printed Materials, 1936-1976 (bulk 1955-1974) (7 boxes)
This series consists of published articles on or mentioning Josef Albers or of interest to Josef Albers. Included among the materials are Photostats of articles made by and grouped together by Josef. Many of the materials include Josef's handwritten comments. Of note among the materials are New Yorker cartoons with references to Josef's work.

Series X. Photographs and Scrapbooks, 1954-1971, undated (5 boxes)
This series includes loose mounted photographs, photograph albums, and scrapbooks assembled by people for Josef and Anni Albers. There are three photograph albums made by Hochschule fur Gestaltung students for Josef, including photographs of Josef teaching at the school and photographs of student studies. Among loose mounted photographs is a large print of Josef Albers's baby photograph. Also included in the series is a photograph album, "Josef Albers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art," Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York that includes photographs of Josef and Anni Albers at home and at Sirocco Screen Press. Photographers in the series include Arnold Newman, Margit Staber, Jon Naar, Cheryl Rossum, Erika Schmied, Josephine Mears, Lee Boltin, Michael Popp, Manfred Tischer, Herb Weitman, M. Unagami, and Hiram Ash.

Series XI. Audiovisual, 1955-1976 (5.5 boxes of sound recording tape reels and 62 film cans)
The Audiovisual Series includes acetate and polyester open reel sound recordings and 16mm acetate and polyester films made of Josef Albers. They include only film and audio projects by other people on Josef Albers, as Josef did not make any of them himself. All sound recordings have been reformatted and access CD-Rs are available. Access DVDs are noted in the folder list when available.

The Sound Recordings subseries includes sound elements to film projects To Open Eyes and Man at the Center, Yale University Painting Crits, lectures and interviews. Among the lectures are the three lectures given at Trinity College in Hartford that led to the publication Search versus Re-Search. Also included in the subseries is a recording of Josef Albers discussing Black Mountain College, the interviews with Josef and Anni Albers conducted by Martin Duberman, and Josef Albers's Memorial Service at Yale University Art Gallery.

The Films subseries includes 16mm prints of the following films: Josef Albers at Yale by John Cohen; Josef Albers at Home by Sedat Pakay; Josef Albers: Homage to the Square by Hans Namuth and Paul Falkenberg; To Open Eyes by State University of New York at Albany, directed by Arnold Bittleman; Man at the Center by Canadian Broadcast Company, Lister Sinclar, producer; and an untitled film by Lee Savage. Of note are the films Josef Albers at Yale, a short silent film showing Josef in the classroom leading students through exercises and Josef Albers at Home, a film showing Josef in his studio at home with his paintings.

Subgroup: Anni Albers, 1889-1994 (bulk 1945-1994)

Series I. Correspondence, 1930-1994 (bulk 1976-1990) (14 boxes)
This series contains personal and professional correspondence with individuals and institutions and organizations, documenting Anni Albers's personal and professional life. The series consists of the following two subseries: Individuals and Institutions/Organizations.

The Correspondence with Individuals subseries includes letters between Anni Albers and family, friends, colleagues, and various individuals that Anni likely never met. Of note are correspondents Maximilian Schell, John Cage (with enclosed macrobiotic recipes), Max Bill, Buckminster Fuller, Ruth Asawa, and Robert and Elodie Osborn. Highlights include the letters of sympathy written to Anni upon the event Josef's death.

The Correspondence with Institutions and Organizations subseries includes letters between Anni Albers and various institutions and organizations. Included among this subseries is correspondence regarding solo and group exhibitions and artwork gifts, sales and loans. Of note is correspondence with the Art Institute of Chicago, Bauhaus Archiv, Camino Real, Sidney Janis Gallery, Yale University, Zabriskie Gallery, letters from German institutions regarding Josef Albers's death, and letters regarding Anni's "Pictorial Weavings," traveling exhibition.

Series II. Professional Papers, 1941-1994 (bulk 1977-1985) (15 boxes)
Materials in this series relate to Anni Albers's professional life as a visual artist and educator. The series consists of seven subseries: Teaching, Project Files, Solo Exhibitions, Group Exhibitions, Awards and Honorary Degrees, Interviews, and Bibliographies and Biographies.

Teaching includes materials created and collected by Anni Albers in her capacity as a teacher and administrator at Black Mountain College in Black Mountain, North Carolina, United States and as guest lecture at Philadelphia Museum School of Art. There is a small amount of material relating to Anni's teaching, including a letter of reappointment for Black Mountain College, a weaving lecture slide list, textile photographs and publicity.

The subseries Project Files consists of materials pertaining to prints, weavings and various other projects completed by Anni Albers, often in collaboration with a printmaker or other organization. Of note among the materials are correspondence, print documentation, lists and notes related to print portfolios and weaving and design reproductions made in collaboration with Tyler Graphics, Gemini G.E.L., Knoll Textiles, Larsen Carpet, and Tamarind Lithography Workshop. Other highlights include material relating to the Harriet Engelhardt Memorial Collection of Textiles, a collection that Anni assisted in the care of; an original weaving, Ark, commissioned by Temple Emanu-el in Dallas; a Bauhaus postage stamp with Josef Albers's design; and Josef Albers's "Learning Never Ends" postage stamp.

Solo and Group Exhibition subseries comprise the bulk of the series and includes correspondence, writings, catalogs, brochures, publicity, condition reports, shipment forms, work lists, and notes. This subseries reveals Anni Albers's career exhibiting her weavings, prints and jewelry. Of note among the exhibition files are materials relating to a major solo exhibition, "Anni Albers: Textiles," at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1949, the first solo textile show at the Museum of Modern Art, and the traveling exhibition "Pictorial Weavings" in 1959-1960. Comprising the bulk of the subseries is material documenting the solo exhibition, "The Woven and Graphic Art of Anni Albers," at the Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. in 1985-1986; and the subsequent traveling exhibition and publication, The Woven and Graphic Art of Anni Albers for which several individuals contributed essays. Among the group exhibition files, highlights include materials pertaining to the exhibitions "Anni Albers and Alex Reed: Exhibition of Necklaces," Willard Gallery in New York in 1941; "Josef and Anni Albers: Paintings, Tapestries and Woven Textiles," at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, CT in 1953 and "Gunta Stoelzl and Anni Albers," at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1990.

The Awards and Honorary Degrees subseries includes correspondence, awards, photographs, writings, speeches, publicity, and medals from the universities, colleges, and professional organizations that bestowed awards and honorary degrees upon Anni Albers. Of particular importance to Anni Albers was the 1961 American Institute of Architects Craftsmanship Medal, the 1976 Philadelphia College of Art Honorary Degree of Doctor of Fine Arts, 1990 Royal College of Art Honorary Doctorate, and the various awards from the state of Bottrop. A highlight in the subseries is Anni's writing on Paul Klee's 1929 birthday event, for which Anni and others at the Bauhaus flew in an airplane above Klee's house to drop gifts from the sky.

The Interviews subseries contains printed interviews conducted with Anni Albers. The subseries is small and all are of great interest since there are not many interviews with Anni Albers in existence. Bibliographies and Biographies includes photocopies and citations of bibliographies of publications on and by Anni Albers and biographies and biographical notes on Anni Albers. This subseries also contains submitted biographical entries and correspondence with biographical publications.

Series III. Writings, 1926-1990 (7 boxes)
The Writing Series in the Anni Albers subgroup documents Anni Albers's writings on weaving, design and on various topics relating to crafts and art. The series consists of three subseries: Books, Various and Lectures.

The Books subseries includes handwritten and typed drafts, page proofs, correspondence, contracts and royalty statements, notes, lists, publicity, and printed materials pertaining to books written by Anni Albers, including various editions of each. Books include Anni's important texts, On Designing, On Weaving, with a small amount of Pre-Columbian Miniatures materials.

The Various subseries includes various writings by Anni Albers. Often these writings appeared in various publications, many in Design. Highlights include "Bauhausweberei" in Junge Menschen 5 from 1926, "Work with Materials," "Handweaving Today: Textile Work at Black Mountain College," "We Need the Crafts for Their Contact with Materials," "The Pliable Plane" in Perspecta 4 from 1957, and her obituary for Walter Gropius "On Walter Gropius" in Craft Horizons from 1969.

Lectures includes typescript drafts with publicity for various lectures. All are untitled except for "Material as Metaphor," given at the College Art Association of America in New York.

Series IV. Personal, 1889-1997 (2 boxes)
Among the materials in the Personal series there are documents relating to Anni Albers's family; academic records; birth and identification papers; the Alberses' guestbook, and material relating to the Alberses' travels in Latin America. Of note among the materials is Anni's mother's 1937 and 1939 travel diary to Mexico; correspondence and financial statements regarding Siegfried Fleischmann/Farman's estate with a will and printed materials on Ullstein family members; and materials regarding Josef Albers's death and memorial service.

Series V. Subject Files, circa 1934-1994 (bulk 1950-1980) (6 boxes)
The Subject Files series includes printed materials collected by Anni Albers on individuals, including artists and various notable people, subjects relating to art, Latin America, weaving, Pre-Columbian materials and Maximilian Schell.

Series VI. Printed Material, 1931-1985, undated (bulk 1975-1985) (2 boxes)
This series consists of published articles on or mentioning Anni Albers.

Series VII. Pre-Columbian Collection, 1959-1983 (2 boxes)
The Pre-Columbian Collection series contains photographs, negatives, correspondence, receipts, and printed materials regarding the Alberses' collection of Pre-Columbian figurines and textiles. As the Alberses' began to travel in Mexico, they became interested in Pre-Columbian figurines and textiles, eventually beginning to collect items during their travels and through galleries. They eventually gifted the collection to the Peabody Museum at Yale University.

Series VIII. Photographs and Scrapbooks, 1988 (1 box)
This small series contains one photograph album from the Josef Albers Retrospektive at Staatliche Kunsthalle Baden-Baden in 1988.

Series IX. Josef Albers Museum in Bottrop, 1979-1983 (2 boxes and 1 unboxed photograph album)
This series contains correspondence, plans, a photograph album, printed materials and publicity pertaining to the opening of the Josef Albers Museum in Bottrop in 1983. Of note among the materials is the photograph album containing photographs of German officials and Anni Albers at the opening and a letter of regret from Robert Rauschenberg.

Series X. Financial, 1973-1983 (bulk 1977-1983) (4 boxes)
The Financial series contains used and unused checks, receipts, bills and tax forms.

Series XI. Audiovisual, 1967, undated (.5 box)
The Audiovisual series includes acetate and polyester open reel sound recordings, containing one lecture and two interviews. All sound recordings have been reformatted and access CD-Rs are available.