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 GrayPhillips781lots offered2001–2026years recorded97%sold (706)$4.6kSign 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. Study to homage to the square: Victorian by Josef Albers, 1955, Oil on Masonite, sold Dec 2025
    Study to homage to the square: Victorian, 1955
    Oil · Board
    45 x 45 cm
    Lempertz · · Lot 24
    €378,000≈ $440,975≈ £330,566Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. €300,000–400,000View at Lempertz ↗
  2. Study for Homage to the Square "Morning Sight" by Josef Albers, 1969, Öl auf Masonit, sold Dec 2025
    Study for Homage to the Square "Morning Sight", 1969
    Oil
    81 x 81cm
    Van Ham · · Lot 30
    €607,200≈ $708,481≈ £532,252Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. €300,000–View at Van Ham ↗
  3. Hommage to the Square: Edition Keller Ia - Ik by Josef Albers, 1970, Farbserigrafie auf Hahnemühle (Wasserzeichen), sold Dec 2025
    Hommage to the Square: Edition Keller Ia - Ik, 1970
    Screenprint · ed. 90/125
    35 x 35cm
    Van Ham · · Lot 517
    €105,600≈ $123,214≈ £92,566Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. €40,000–View at Van Ham ↗
  4. ELC - 2C from Embossed Linear Constructions by Josef Albers, 1969, inkless embossing on Arches watercolor paper, sold Dec 2025
    ELC - 2C from Embossed Linear Constructions, 1969
    Watercolor · Paper
    20 x 26 in. (50.8 x 66 cm.)
    Abell Auction Company · · Lot 100
    $813≈ £615≈ €700Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $800–1,200View at Abell Auction Company ↗
  5. ELC - 2D from Embossed Linear Constructions by Josef Albers, 1969, inkless embossing on Arches watercolor paper, sold Dec 2025
    ELC - 2D from Embossed Linear Constructions, 1969
    Watercolor · Paper
    20 x 26 in. (50.8 x 66 cm.)
    Abell Auction Company · · Lot 101
    $875≈ £663≈ €753Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $800–1,200View at Abell Auction Company ↗
  6. ELC 1-A from Embossed Linear Constructions by Josef Albers, 1969, inkless embossing on Arches watercolor paper, sold Dec 2025
    ELC 1-A from Embossed Linear Constructions, 1969
    Watercolor · Paper
    20 x 26 in. (50.8 x 66 cm.)
    Abell Auction Company · · Lot 94
    $625≈ £473≈ €538Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $800–1,200View at Abell Auction Company ↗
  7. ELC - 1B from Embossed Linear Constructions by Josef Albers, 1969, inkless embossing on Arches watercolor paper, sold Dec 2025
    ELC - 1B from Embossed Linear Constructions, 1969
    Watercolor · Paper
    20 x 26 in. (50.8 x 66 cm.)
    Abell Auction Company · · Lot 95
    $875≈ £663≈ €753Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $800–1,200View at Abell Auction Company ↗
  8. ELC - 1C from Embossed Linear Constructions by Josef Albers, 1969, inkless embossing on Arches watercolor paper, sold Dec 2025
    ELC - 1C from Embossed Linear Constructions, 1969
    Watercolor · Paper
    20 x 26 in. (50.8 x 66 cm.)
    Abell Auction Company · · Lot 96
    $750≈ £568≈ €646Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $800–1,200View at Abell Auction Company ↗
  9. ELC - 1D from Embossed Linear Constructions by Josef Albers, 1969, inkless embossing on Arches watercolor paper, sold Dec 2025
    ELC - 1D from Embossed Linear Constructions, 1969
    Watercolor · Paper
    20 x 26 in. (50.8 x 66 cm.)
    Abell Auction Company · · Lot 97
    $875≈ £663≈ €753Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $800–1,200View at Abell Auction Company ↗
  10. ELC - 2B from Embossed Linear Constructions by Josef Albers, 1969, inkless embossing on Arches watercolor paper, sold Dec 2025
    ELC - 2B from Embossed Linear Constructions, 1969
    Watercolor · Paper
    20 x 26 in. (50.8 x 66 cm.)
    Abell Auction Company · · Lot 98
    $625≈ £473≈ €538Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $800–1,200View at Abell Auction Company ↗
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 (598)Josef Albers engravings (4)Josef Albers lithographs (82)Josef Albers screenprints (481)Josef Albers woodcuts & linocuts (7)Josef Albers multiples (5)Josef Albers photographs (4)

Josef Albers signature

353 catalogued lots by Josef Albers record a signature line. The most common placement is lower right (81% of lots that state a placement). Most often: signed.

Placement

  • lower right38
  • in the margin4
  • along the bottom3
  • on the reverse2

Form

  • signed169
  • monogrammed106
  • initialled53
  • 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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