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. Folio I Folder 19 (from the Formulation : Articulation portfolio) by Josef Albers, 1972, screenprint in colors, sold Jun 2021
    Folio I Folder 19 (from the Formulation : Articulation portfolio), 1972
    Screenprint
    15 h x 40 w in (38 x 102 cm)
    Rago Auctions · · Lot 537
    $1,625≈ £1,150≈ €1,340Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $1,200–View at Rago Auctions ↗
  2. I-S Va 1 (from the Six Variants series) by Josef Albers, 1969, screenprint in colors on Arches, sold Jun 2021
    I-S Va 1 (from the Six Variants series), 1969
    Screenprint · Paper
    27⅞ h x 35⅞ w in (71 x 91 cm)
    Rago Auctions · · Lot 538
    $3,250≈ £2,301≈ €2,681Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $4,000–View at Rago Auctions ↗
  3. Folio II Folder 32 (from the Formulation : Articulation portfolio) by Josef Albers, 1972, screenprint in colors, sold Jun 2021
    Folio II Folder 32 (from the Formulation : Articulation portfolio), 1972
    Screenprint
    15 h x 40 w in (38 x 102 cm)
    Rago Auctions · · Lot 541
    $2,500≈ £1,770≈ €2,062Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $1,200–View at Rago Auctions ↗
  4. Profundo (from Soft Edge - Hard Edge) by Josef Albers, 1965, screenprint in colors on Mohawk Superfine Bristol, sold Jun 2021
    Profundo (from Soft Edge - Hard Edge), 1965
    Screenprint
    17 h x 17 w in (43 x 43 cm)
    Rago Auctions · · Lot 549
    $1,125≈ £796≈ €928Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $700–View at Rago Auctions ↗
  5. Interaction of Color by Josef Albers, 1973, The complete set of 80 screenprints in colours, on wove paper, with full margins, some with cut-out overlays, the sheets, sold Jun 2021
    Interaction of Color, 1973
    Screenprint · Paper
    all I. various sizes all unfolded S. 51 x 33 cm (20 1/8 x 12 7/8 in.) portfolio 14 x 27.5 x 37 cm (5 1/2 x 10 7/8 x 14 5/8 in.)
    Phillips · · Lot 220
    £5,040≈ $7,106≈ €5,867Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. £3,000–5,000View at Phillips ↗
  6. Hommage au Carré (Tribute to the Square): one plate (D. 160.11) by Josef Albers, 1965, Screenprint in colours, on J. Perrugot Arches Special MBM paper, with full margins, sold Jun 2021
    Hommage au Carré (Tribute to the Square): one plate (D. 160.11), 1965
    Screenprint · Paper · ed. 65/125
    I. 28 x 28 cm (11 x 11 in.) S. 37.4 x 37.4 cm (14 3/4 x 14 3/4 in.)
    Phillips · · Lot 222
    £3,528≈ $4,974≈ €4,107Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. £3,000–5,000View at Phillips ↗
  7. White Embossing on Gray III, IV, V (3) by Josef Albers, 1971, 1-color linecuts with embossing on Roleaf paper, sold May 2021
    White Embossing on Gray III, IV, V (3), 1971
    1-color linecuts with embossing on Roleaf paper · Paper
    Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) · · Lot 25
    $4,375≈ £3,082≈ €3,583Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $4,000–View at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) ↗
  8. Formulation Articulation by Josef Albers, Screenprints, sold May 2021
    Formulation Articulation
    Screenprint
    Palm Beach Modern Auctions · · Lot 545
    $3,000≈ £2,124≈ €2,458Price realizedSign up free to seeView at Palm Beach Modern Auctions ↗
  9. Seclusion, 1942 by Josef Albers, lithograph, sold Apr 2021
    Seclusion, 1942
    Lithograph
    30cm x 31.5cm (11.8in x 12.4in)
    Lyon & Turnbull · · Lot 339
    £2,750≈ $3,825≈ €3,166Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. £1,500–2,500View at Lyon & Turnbull ↗
  10. O-G by Josef Albers, 1967, Farbserigrafie auf leichtem Karton, sold Apr 2021
    O-G, 1967
    Screenprint · Board
    18 x 28cm
    Van Ham · · Lot 83
    €3,096≈ $3,737≈ £2,693Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. €1,800–View at Van Ham ↗
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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