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Josef Albers

German · 1888–1976 · Painter, Printmaker

Josef Albers was a German-born American artist and educator who is considered one of the most influential 20th-century art teachers in the United States. Born in 1888 in… (Wikipedia)

$1,316,000≈ £1,025,481≈ €1,195,711Sign uprecord price · incl. premiumHomage to the Square: Silent GrayPhillips791lots offered2001–2026years recorded97%sold (716)$4.5kSign up free to seemedian price

1 work by Josef Albers with an auction history (offered more than once) →

1 work by Josef Albers coming up at auction · bid with the house ↓

Record prices

  1. Homage to the Square: Silent Gray by Josef Albers, 1955, oil on Masonite, sold Nov 2019Homage to the Square: Silent GrayPhillips · $1,316,000≈ £1,025,481≈ €1,195,711Sign up to see
  2. Study for Homage to the Square: Bright by Josef Albers, 1962, oil on Masonite, sold May 2023Study for Homage to the Square: BrightPhillips · $844,550≈ £674,776≈ €776,169Sign up to see
  3. Homage to the Square by Josef Albers, 1962, oil on Masonite, sold Oct 2023Homage to the SquarePhillips · £609,600≈ $742,371≈ €705,408Sign up to see

Josef Albers’s highest prices recorded at auction, ranked in US dollars at each sale-date exchange rate and shown in the currency of the sale (with the buyer’s premium where the house publishes it).

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  1. WLS III, from White Line Squares (Series I) by Josef Albers, 1966, Lithograph in colors, on Arches Cover paper, with full margins, sold Oct 2018
    WLS III, from White Line Squares (Series I), 1966
    Lithograph · Paper · ed. 104/125
    I. 15 3/4 x 15 3/4 in. (40 x 40 cm) S. 20 3/4 x 20 3/4 in. (52.7 x 52.7 cm)
    Phillips · · Lot 253
    $2,750≈ £2,098≈ €2,385Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $2,000–3,000View at Phillips ↗
  2. WLS I, from White Line Squares (Series I) by Josef Albers, 1966, Lithograph in colors, on Arches Cover paper, with full margins, sold Oct 2018
    WLS I, from White Line Squares (Series I), 1966
    Lithograph · Paper · ed. 60/125
    I. 15 5/8 x 15 5/8 in. (39.7 x 39.7 cm) S. 20 1/2 x 20 1/2 in. (52.1 x 52.1 cm)
    Phillips · · Lot 254
    $2,375≈ £1,812≈ €2,060Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $2,500–3,500View at Phillips ↗
  3. WLS IV, from White Line Squares (Series I) by Josef Albers, 1966, Lithograph in colors, on Arches Cover paper, with full margins, sold Oct 2018
    WLS IV, from White Line Squares (Series I), 1966
    Lithograph · Paper · ed. 51/125
    I. 15 5/8 x 15 5/8 in. (39.7 x 39.7 cm) S. 20 5/8 x 20 5/8 in. (52.4 x 52.4 cm)
    Phillips · · Lot 255
    $2,500≈ £1,907≈ €2,168Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $2,500–3,500View at Phillips ↗
  4. WLS VII, from White Line Squares (Series I) by Josef Albers, 1966, Lithograph in colors, on Arches Cover paper, with full margins, sold Oct 2018
    WLS VII, from White Line Squares (Series I), 1966
    Lithograph · Paper · ed. 57/125
    I. 15 5/8 x 15 5/8 in. (39.7 x 39.7 cm) S. 20 3/4 x 20 3/4 in. (52.7 x 52.7 cm)
    Phillips · · Lot 257
    $2,375≈ £1,812≈ €2,060Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $2,500–3,500View at Phillips ↗
  5. I-S j by Josef Albers, 1973, Screenprint in colors, on heavy etching paper, trimmed at all of the sheet edges, sold Oct 2018
    I-S j, 1973
    Screenprint · Paper · ed. 12/35
    I. 25 x 25 in. (63.5 x 63.5 cm) S. 26 5/8 x 26 3/8 in. (67.6 x 67 cm)
    Phillips · · Lot 258
    $4,750≈ £3,623≈ €4,120Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $2,500–3,500View at Phillips ↗
  6. Never Before f; from Never Before portfolio by Josef Albers, 1976, Screenprint in colors, on Arches 88 paper, with full margins, sold Oct 2018
    Never Before f; from Never Before portfolio, 1976
    Screenprint · Paper · ed. PP
    I. 10 7/8 x 12 in. (27.6 x 30.5 cm) S. 18 7/8 x 19 7/8 in. (47.9 x 50.5 cm)
    Phillips · · Lot 259
    $2,500≈ £1,907≈ €2,168Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $2,500–3,500View at Phillips ↗
  7. Slate and Sky by Josef Albers, 1964, Screenprint in colors, on Mohawk Superfine bristol paper, with full margins, sold Oct 2018
    Slate and Sky, 1964
    Screenprint · Paper · ed. 28/100
    I. 7 x 7 in. (17.8 x 17.8 cm) S. 10 1/2 x 8 1/8 in. (26.7 x 20.6 cm)
    Phillips · · Lot 260
    $2,500≈ £1,907≈ €2,168Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $2,000–3,000View at Phillips ↗
  8. Formulation Articulation I and II by Josef Albers, 1972, The complete set of 127 screenprints in colors, on 66 sheets of wove paper, each folded (as issued), with full margins,, sold Oct 2018
    Formulation Articulation I and II, 1972
    Screenprint · Paper
    20 3/4 x 15 3/4 in. (52.7 x 40 cm)
    Phillips · · Lot 261
    $11,250≈ £8,581≈ €9,757Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $5,000–7,000View at Phillips ↗
  9. Mitered Squares by Josef Albers, 1976, The complete set of 12 screenprints in colors, on Arches 88 paper, with full margins, with the original black cloth-cove, sold Oct 2018
    Mitered Squares, 1976
    Screenprint · Paper · ed. 29/36
    all I. 11 1/4 x 11 1/4 in. (28.6 x 28.6 cm) all S. 19 x 19 in. (48.3 x 48.3 cm)
    Phillips · · Lot 29
    $16,250≈ £12,395≈ €14,094Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $12,000–18,000View at Phillips ↗
  10. Never Before: nine plates by Josef Albers, 1976, Nine screenprints in colors, on Arches 88 paper, with full margins, with the original blue cloth-covered portfolio and s, sold Oct 2018
    Never Before: nine plates, 1976
    Screenprint · Paper · ed. 14/46
    all I. 11 x 12 in. (27.9 x 30.5 cm) all S. 19 x 19 5/8 in. (48.3 x 49.8 cm)
    Phillips · · Lot 30
    $16,250≈ £12,395≈ €14,094Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $8,000–12,000View at Phillips ↗
Also offered, result not published (52)

Lots by Josef Albers that were offered at auction where the house did not publish whether they sold. Not counted in any statistics.

Josef Albers paintings (51)Josef Albers oil paintings (51)Josef Albers works on paper (33)Josef Albers watercolors (16)Josef Albers drawings (9)Josef Albers prints (607)Josef Albers engravings (4)Josef Albers lithographs (83)Josef Albers screenprints (488)Josef Albers woodcuts & linocuts (8)Josef Albers multiples (5)Josef Albers photographs (4)

Josef Albers signature

359 catalogued lots by Josef Albers record a signature line. The most common placement is lower right (82% of lots that state a placement). Most often: signed.

Placement

  • lower right41
  • in the margin4
  • along the bottom3
  • on the reverse2

Form

  • signed174
  • monogrammed106
  • initialled54
  • signed and dated18
  • signed in pencil7
  • Inscribed and dated ‘I-S k hc 31/35' lower left; signed with the artist’s signature and dated ‘’73’ lower right — Homage to the Square I-S K, Phillips, May 20, 2026
  • Monogrammiert und datiert unten rechts (in die nasse Farbe eingeritzt): A69. Betitelt, signiert und datiert verso oben rechts: Study for Homage to the Square "Morning Sight" Albers 1969. Hier zudem mi — Study for Homage to the Square "Morning Sight", Van Ham, Dec 3, 2025
  • Incised with the artist's monogram and date "A 63" lower right; signed, titled, variously inscribed and dated "Study for Homage to the Square "Ripening" Albers — Study for Homage to the Square: Ripening, Phillips, Nov 21, 2025

Josef Albers signature: all forms and examples →

About Josef Albers

Josef Albers was a German-born American artist and educator who is considered one of the most influential 20th-century art teachers in the United States. Born in 1888 in Bottrop, Westphalia, Germany, into a Roman Catholic family with a background in craftsmanship, Albers received practical training in diverse skills like engraving glass, plumbing, and wiring during his childhood. He later worked as a schoolteacher from 1908 to 1913 and received his first public commission in 1918 and moved to Munich in 1919.

From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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