As mesmerizing as Anni Albers’ weavings and prints are, her art represents only a fraction of her achievement. In addition to being one of the most important textile artists of the 20th century, she was a designer, writer and teacher.
Albers was born Annelise Fleischmann in 1899 to a well-to-do Jewish family in Berlin. She studied at the School of Applied Art in Hamburg and then attended the Bauhaus, the utopian workshop founded in Weimar in 1919 by architect Walter Gropius.
The school envisioned a unity of art and design, with the goal of training designers and artisans who could create objects both functional and artistic for mass production. At the Bauhaus, where women’s choices for study were limited, the aspiring Albers ended up in the weaving workshop. Although she initially perceived the discipline as unserious, once she had a thread in hand, she was obsessed.
“I heard Paul Klee speak, and he said to take a line for a walk, and I thought, ‘I will take thread everywhere I can,’” she once told Nicholas Fox Weber, executive director of the Albers Foundation.
At the Bauhaus, Anni met and married fellow student Josef Albers, who would later become a celebrated color theorist and painter. His “Homage to the Square” paintings, which explored the relationships between colors, are now considered modernist masterpieces, and his treatment of color was crucial to the development of the Op art movement.
After graduating in 1930, Anni and Josef both became teachers at the Bauhaus, but when the Nazis came to power, the school was shut down. In 1933, fleeing the Nazis, the couple emigrated to the U.S., where they both became teachers at Black Mountain College, in North Carolina.
Black Mountain, which rejected educational norms and was known for its free-spirited atmosphere, produced many luminaries of modern American art — among them Robert Rauschenberg and Cy Twombly, both students of the Alberses’. In addition to teaching, Anni continued her own artistic practice, making what she called “pictorial weavings”: abstract wallhangings having the same formal qualities as a painting.
The Alberses were fascinated by Latin America even before they crossed the Atlantic, so from North Carolina, they made numerous road trips to Mexico and Peru to collect pre-Columbian art. The influence of the ceramics and textiles the couple discovered in their travels is clear in Anni’s work yet her approach to weaving was unorthodox.
Albers incorporated unusual materials such as cellophane and metallic thread. She intertwined linked threads in innovative ways and added knots as artistic elements, as in “Dotted” Weaving (1959). She created studies using corn kernels, grass, twisted paper, lines made with a typewriter and pin pricks.
In addition to her art pieces, Anni designed many functional textiles for mass production. In 1949, Gropius commissioned her to create fabrics for the Harvard dormitories he designed. Shortly afterward, she was commissioned to design fabrics for the furniture company Knoll. In the late ’50s, Anni began publishing books: On Designing, in 1959, and On Weaving, in 1965.
In her 60s, when it became difficult for her to operate a loom, Anni turned her energies to making prints. Beyond the increased recognition of weaving as an art form, another reason for the renewed interest in Anni’s work is that art history has now turned its lens on women artists who were previously overlooked.
Find Anni Albers rugs, wall decor and original prints on 1stDibs.
$14,000
E /// Anni Albers Female Women Artist Abstract Geometric Screenprint Bauhaus Art
By Anni Albers
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Anni Albers (German-American, 1899-1994) Title: "E" Portfolio: (First) Triadic Series *Signed and dated by Albers in pencil lower right Year: 1969 Medium: Original Screenprin...
Screen
$4,501
Fox I
By Anni Albers
Located in Paris, FR
Offset, 1972 Handsigned by the artist in pencil and numbered 123/150 Catalog : Weber & Danilowitz 29 60.50 cm. x 50.50 cm. 23.82 in. x 19.88 in. (paper) 38.00 cm. x 34.00 cm. 14.96...
Offset
$28,000
Red Meander I /// Anni Albers Bauhaus Abstract Geometric Female Artist Screen
By Anni Albers
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Anni Albers (German-American, 1899-1994) Title: "Red Meander I" Portfolio: Meander *Signed and dated by Albers in pencil lower right Year: 1969-1970 Medium: Original Screenpr...
Screen
Anni Albers, ST - Original Screen Print from 1971, Geometric Abstraction
By Anni Albers
Located in Hamburg, DE
Anni Albers (1899-1994) ST, 1971 Medium: Screenprint on cardboard Dimensions: 83 × 62 cm (32 7/10 × 24 2/5 in) Edition: Not signed, not numbered outside the edition of 150. Condition...
Screen
$22,000
Orange Meander /// Anni Albers Bauhaus Abstract Geometric Female Artist Screen
By Anni Albers
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Anni Albers (German-American, 1899-1994) Title: "Orange Meander" Portfolio: Meander *Signed and dated by Albers in pencil lower right Year: 1970 Medium: Original Screenprint ...
Screen
Anni Albers, ST - Original Screen Print from 1971, Geometric Abstraction
By Anni Albers
Located in Hamburg, DE
Anni Albers (1899-1994) ST, 1971 Medium: Screenprint on cardboard Dimensions: 83 × 62 cm (32 7/10 × 24 2/5 in) Edition: Hand-signed and numbered in pencil Condition: Very good
Screen
$14,000
F /// Anni Albers Female Women Artist Abstract Geometric Screenprint Minimalist
By Anni Albers
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: Anni Albers (German-American, 1899-1994) Title: "F" Portfolio: (First) Triadic Series *Signed and dated by Albers in pencil lower right Year: 1969 Medium: Original Screenprin...
Screen
$75
H 35.5 in W 27.5 in D 0.1 in
1990s Abstract Offset Print: Brown and Orange on Slate, Unframed
By (after) Mark Rothko
Located in Brooklyn, NY
This high-quality reproduction of Brown and Orange on Slate faithfully captures Mark Rothko’s signature exploration of color, light, and emotion. Rothko’s artistic process was deeply...
Offset
$1,000
H 35 in W 5 in D 5 in
Chinatown Portfolio II Plate Three Signed Silkscreen Large 40 x 38" Greek artist
By Chryssa Vardea-Mavromichali
Located in New York, NY
Chryssa Chinatown Portfolio II, Plate Three, ca. 1978 Silkscreen on thick wove paper 40 × 30 1/2 inches (Ships rolled in a tube measuring 35 x 5 x 5) Pencil signed and numbered 36/150 on the front; bears printers stamp on the back Unframed from the Chinatown Portfolio Printed by Atelier Arco in Paris (with stamp on the back of the print) from the Chinatown Portfolio Renowned Greek-American artist Chryssa was preoccupied with the concept of Chinese letters as art forms, which she explores in her Chinatown silkscreen series. Her deliberate experimentations yield an elegant and compelling result. Chryssa Biography Chryssa Vardea...
Screen, Pencil, Graphite
$2,345
H 29.93 in W 22.84 in
Untitled from "Kinderstern" - Max Bill, Hard Edge, Color Field, Bright Colors
By Max Bill
Located in Köln, DE
Screenprint by Max Bill. From the portfolio "Kinderstern". No Title, 1989 76 x 58 cm Copy 61/100 Edition of 100 (approx.)
Screen
Chrome Green
By Adolph Gottlieb
Located in New York, NY
A very good impression of this color screenprint on Arches. Signed, dated and numbered 125/150 in pencil by Gottlieb. Printed by Kelpra Studio, London, with the ink stamp verso. Publ...
Color, Screen
Original World Cup USA 94 - Coca Cola Soccer poster
Located in Spokane, WA
Original World Cup USA ’94, Coca Cola sponsored vintage poster. Archival linen backed in A- condition, ready to frame. This World Cup ’94 poster is very rarely seen or available....
Offset
$700
H 12.5 in W 16.6 in
Gerhard Richter -Abstract Picture, limited edition authorized reproduction print
By Gerhard Richter
Located in New York, NY
Gerhard Richter Untitled Abstract Picture, 2002 Offset lithograph on GardaMatt Art 250 GSM paper Not signed, edition of 3433 12 1/2 × 16 3.5 inches Unframed Printed on GardaMatt Art...
Lithograph, Offset
$700
H 12.5 in W 16.6 in
Abstract Painting (Limited edition print; authorized promotional reproduction)
By Gerhard Richter
Located in New York, NY
Gerhard Richter Untitled Abstract Picture, 2002 Offset lithographic reproduction on GardaMatt Art 250 GSM paper with full margins (Artist Authorized) Not signed, edition of 3433 12 1...
Lithograph, Offset
$1,000
H 24 in W 16.5 in
Helen Frankenthaler - original vintage 1960s Andre Emmerich gallery poster print
By (after) Helen Frankenthaler
Located in New York, NY
Offset lithograph poster published by the Andre Emmerich Gallery on the occasion of Helen Frankenthaler's 1965 exhibition. In good vintage condition with original folds as issued, wi...
Offset
$1,000
H 16 in W 24 in
Peter Halley and Alessandro Mendini at Mary Boone (Hand Signed by Peter Halley)
By Peter Halley
Located in New York, NY
Peter Halley and Alessandro Mendini at Mary Boone (Hand Signed by Peter Halley), 2013 Exclusive offering! Offset lithograph poster Hand signed by Peter Halley in black marker on the ...
Lithograph, Offset
$4,500
H 18 in W 26.5 in
Friedel Dzubas - Signed #42/100 Emmerich gallery exhibition screenprint 1966-7
By Friedel Dzubas
Located in New York, NY
Friedel Dzubas at Andre Emmerich, 1967 Color silkscreen on wovepaper Pencil signed and numbered 42/100 on the front. Date printed on lithograph Rarely seen, this historic pencil sign...
Screen
$2,800
H 14.88 in W 12 in D 0.5 in
Offset Lithograph signed & warmly Inscribed to African American Arts prof Framed
By Sam Gilliam
Located in New York, NY
Sam Gilliam Offset Lithograph Warmly Inscribed to Renowned African American Arts Educator, 1988 Offset Lithograph Card Hand written, signed and inscribed card with a warm personal message from the artist Frame Included Hand written, signed and inscribed offset lithograph card with a warm personal message from Sam Gilliam to Lindsay Waldorf Patterson. Measurements: Frame: 14 7/8 x 12 x 1/2 inches Card: 8 x 5 inches The inscription reads: To Lindsay: With Warmest Regards Sam Gilliam Lindsay Waldorf Patterson was an American English literature educator and author as well as a MacDowell Colony fellow (3 awards); Edward Albee Foundation fellow (2 awards); recipient award National Foundation on Arts & Humanities. Hand signed on the front Provenance: From the estate of Lindsay Waldorf Patterson. Lindsay Waldorf Patterson was an American English literature educator and author as well as an MacDowell Colony fellow (3 awards); Edward Albee Foundation fellow (2 awards); recipient award National Foundation on Arts & Humanities. Formerly an account executive, Harrison Advertising Agency, New York City, 1964; feature writer and columnist assistant to Langston Hughes, Associated Negro Press, 1965; special feature writer (film) Uptight,, Paramount Pictures, 1968; co-host Celebrity Hour program, Station WRVR-FM, New York City, 1974-1977; co-host Black Conversations program, Station WPIX-television, New York City, 1976-1979; assistant Professor of English, Queens College, Flushing, New York, since 1990. Adjunct Professor Afro-American & Caribbean literature, black theater...
Lithograph, Offset, Ink
$1,000
H 33 in W 21.75 in
Alexander Calder - Transworld Art International Art Fair, Tel Aviv, 1977 poster
By Alexander Calder
Located in New York, NY
Offset lithograph poster published by the Transworld Art Fair in Tel Aviv The work depicted in the image is Calder's "Boomerang", 1973 Plate (printed) signature Unframed ALEXANDER CA...
Lithograph, Offset
Sold
H 26.78 in W 26.78 in
Anni Albers (1899 - 1994) - Double Weave - Screenprint on Fabriano paper - 1985
By Anni Albers
Located in Varese, IT
Screenprint on Fabriano paper, edited in 1985. Limited edition of 125 copies, numbered as 46/125 in lower left corner. Hand-signed in pencil by artist in lower right corner. Plate s...
Paper, Screen
GR 1
By Anni Albers
Located in New York, NY
Screenprint in colors on Arches, 1970. Signed by the artist in pencil in lower right margin. Titled and numbered 76/100 in pencil lower left margin. Image is 16 x 20 inches; the f...
Screen
GR I, Eclat Pattern, Silkscreen by Anni Albers 1970
By Anni Albers
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Anni Albers, German/American (1899 - 1994) Title: GR I Year: 1970 Medium: Screenprint on Arches Paper, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 100 Image Size: 20 x 16 inches S...
Screen
Sold
H 32.68 in W 24.41 in
Anni Albers, ST - Screenprint from 1971, Abstract Geometric Art
By Anni Albers
Located in Hamburg, DE
Anni Albers (German-American, 1899–1994) ST, 1971 Medium: Screenprint on cardboard Dimensions: 32 7/10 × 24 2/5 in (83 × 62 cm) Edition: Unsigned and unnumbered print outside the edi...
Screen
Sold
H 30.71 in W 30.71 in
Anni Albers ( 1899 – 1994 ) – Intaglio with Triangles – hand-signed Screenprint
By Anni Albers
Located in Varese, IT
Screenprint on Fabriano paper , edited in 1985 Limited edition of 125 copies signed in pencil by artist and numbered as: 46/125 paper size: 68 x 68 cm ( 26 5/8 x 26 5/8 inch ) very g...
Paper, Lithograph, Screen
GR I, Eclat Pattern, Silkscreen by Anni Albers 1970
By Anni Albers
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Anni Albers, German/American (1899 - 1994) Title: GR I Year: 1970 Medium: Silkscreen on Arches Paper, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 46/100 Image Size: 20 x 16 inches...
Screen
Line Involvement II
By Anni Albers
Located in Myrtle Beach, SC
'Line Involvement II', lithograph, edition 20, 1964. Signed, annotated 'Bon à tirer II' in pencil by the artist. A superb, atmospheric impression with rich blacks, on heavy cream, wo...
Lithograph
GR I, Eclat Pattern, Framed Silkscreen by Anni Albers
By Anni Albers
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Anni Albers, German/American (1899 - 1994) Title: GR I Year: 1970 Medium: Silkscreen on Arches Paper, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 100 Image Size: 20 x 16 inches Si...
Screen
GR I, Eclat Pattern, Framed Silkscreen by Anni Albers
By Anni Albers
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Anni Albers, German/American (1899 - 1994) Title: GR I Year: 1970 Medium: Silkscreen on Arches Paper, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 100 Image Size: 20 x 16 inches Si...
Screen
GR I, Eclat Pattern, Framed Silkscreen by Anni Albers
By Anni Albers
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Anni Albers, German/American (1899 - 1994) Title: GR I Year: 1970 Medium: Silkscreen, signed and numbered in pencil Edition: 100 Image Size: 20 x 16 inches Size: 29 x 24 in. ...
Screen
Sold
H 27 in W 19.5 in D 0.1 in
Triangulated Intaglios, 1972 from Connections 1925-1983
By Anni Albers
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Anni Albers, German/American (1899 - 1994) Title: Triangulated Intaglios, 1972 from Connections 1925-1983 Year: 1984 Medium: Silkscreen, Signed and numbered in pencil Edition...
Screen
Untitled, Abstract Op Art Print
By Anni Albers
Located in Surfside, FL
Vintage Print, not signed or numbered on front, in original period metal frame, by artist Anni Albers. Berlin, Germany, b. June 12, 1899, d. May 9, 1994 Anni Albers was a German-American artist who worked primarily in textiles and, late in life, as a printmaker. She is considered the preeminent textile artist of the 20th century. Albers was born Annelise Else Frieda Fleischmann on June 12, 1899 in Berlin, Germany. Of Jewish descent, her mother was from an aristocratic family in the publishing industry and her father was a furnituremaker. Her interest in art and the visual world was seeded in her childhood and she began painting early on. While studying under an Impressionist from 1916 to 1919, she received harsh criticism from the artist Oskar Kokoschka who viewed her work and bluntly asked, why do you paint? Shortly thereafter, she left the comfort of her affluent lifestyle to attend art school, an environment that contrasted sharply with that of her upper class upbringing. In 1920, she attended the Kunstgewerbeschule in Hamburg for only two months but eventually arrived at the Bauhaus at Weimar in April of 1922. In her first year, she studied under Georg Muche and Johannes Itten. However, at the time, women were barred from pursuing certain disciplines at the school, particularly architecture. When she was not admitted to a glass workshop with her future husband Josef Albers, she reluctantly switched tracks to weaving. Under the instruction of Gunta Stölzl, Albers came to love the challenges unique to weaving's tactile construction. Anni and Josef...
Screen