Albers, Josef (1888-1976), was a German-born painter and teacher. Albers concentrated on the way colors are made to perform by their relationship within the picture. He limited himself for years to a single form: the square. By painting squares within squares, he explored color relationships with more freedom because he was relieved of the problem of form. He called his series of square paintings Homage to the Square.
Albers was born on March 19, 1888, in Bottrop. He taught color theory and abstract art at the Bauhaus school of design from 1923 to 1933, then moved to the United States. Albers taught at Black Mountain College from 1933 to 1939 and at Yale from 1950 to 1960. Albers became partly responsible for the Bauhaus influence on American design. He became a U.S. citizen in 1939. Albers died on March 25, 1976.
