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 GrayPhillips780lots offered2001–2026years recorded97%sold (705)$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. 6 Bll.: Homage to the Square by Josef Albers, 1970, The portfolio comprising sixSilkscreen in color..., sold Jun 2023
    6 Bll.: Homage to the Square, 1970
    Screenprint · Other support · ed. edition of 125
    35 x 35 cm (13.7 x 13.7 in)
    Ketterer Kunst · · Lot 135
    €48,260≈ $52,024≈ £41,404Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. €25,000–View at Ketterer Kunst ↗
  2. Untitled by Josef Albers, c. 1971, lithograph, sold Jun 2023
    Untitled, c. 1971After the artist
    Lithograph
    23 h x 15½ w in (58 x 39 cm)
    Wright · · Lot 225
    $630≈ £505≈ €588Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $700–View at Wright ↗
  3. SP-XII by Josef Albers, 1967, Colour screenprint on card, sold Jun 2023
    SP-XII, 1967
    Screenprint · Board · ed. 77/125
    61.4 x 61.4 cm
    Lempertz · · Lot 402
    €8,190≈ $8,777≈ £7,041Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. €3,000–4,000View at Lempertz ↗
  4. Soft Edge–Hard Edge by Josef Albers, 1965, 10 Farbserigrafien auf festem Papier, sold Jun 2023
    Soft Edge–Hard Edge, 1965
    Screenprint
    28 × 28 cm
    Grisebach · · Lot 802
    €11,250≈ $12,108≈ £9,667Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. €10,000–15,000View at Grisebach ↗
  5. JHM-II (from the Josef Albers Honors the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden portfolio) by Josef Albers, 1973, screenprint in colors on German Etching, sold Jun 2023
    JHM-II (from the Josef Albers Honors the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden portfolio), 1973
    Screenprint
    15 h x 15 w in (38 x 38 cm)
    Rago Auctions · · Lot 122
    $7,560≈ £6,065≈ €7,067Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $6,000–View at Rago Auctions ↗
  6. Intaglio Duo C by Josef Albers, 1958, inkless intaglio from brass plate on Arches, sold Jun 2023
    Intaglio Duo C, 1958
    Print (other) · Paper
    5 h x 13½ w in (13 x 34 cm)
    Rago Auctions · · Lot 240
    $1,260≈ £1,011≈ €1,178Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $1,500–View at Rago Auctions ↗
  7. WLS IX (from the White Line Squares Series II) by Josef Albers, 1966, screenprint in colors on handcut Arches Cover, sold Jun 2023
    WLS IX (from the White Line Squares Series II), 1966
    Screenprint · Paper
    15½ h x 15½ w in (39 x 39 cm)
    Rago Auctions · · Lot 241
    $6,930≈ £5,560≈ €6,478Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $1,500–View at Rago Auctions ↗
  8. Midnight + Noon VI by Josef Albers, 1964, zinc and aluminum plate lithograph, sold Jun 2023
    Midnight + Noon VI, 1964
    Lithograph
    15¾ h x 15¾ w in (40 x 40 cm)
    Rago Auctions · · Lot 243
    $7,860≈ £6,306≈ €7,348Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $1,500–View at Rago Auctions ↗
  9. Intaglio Duo K by Josef Albers, inkless intaglio from brass plate on Arches, sold Jun 2023
    Intaglio Duo K
    Print (other) · Paper
    5 h x 13¼ w in (13 x 34 cm)
    Rago Auctions · · Lot 247
    $1,260≈ £1,011≈ €1,178Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $1,500–View at Rago Auctions ↗
  10. Study for Homage to the Square, Unavowed (JAAF 1962.1.72), 1962
    Oil · Board
    18 x 18 in. (45.72 x 45.72 cm.)
    Brunk Auctions · · Lot 104
    $230,000≈ £184,798≈ €212,805HammerSign up free to seeEst. $150,000–250,000View at Brunk Auctions ↗
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 (597)Josef Albers engravings (4)Josef Albers lithographs (82)Josef Albers screenprints (480)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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