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Anni Albers
German-American • 1899-1994
Biography
Anni Albers was a German-American artist. Born Anni Fleischmann in Berlin, her interest in art was encouraged from a young age, and she enrolled in the famous Bauhaus in 1922. While there, she began to pursue weaving and textile-based works, blurring the line between fine art and craft. Though this medium would come to define Albers’ practice, at the time it was the only course at the Bauhaus that allowed women to enroll. In her second year, she managed to get herself into a stained glass workshop where she met her husband, fellow artist and educator Josef Albers. The pair emigrated to the United States in 1933 due to rising tensions in Europe. Though they encouraged each others’ work, Josef and Anni never collaborated on projects together.
Later in life, Albers became a prolific printmaker. As in her textile work, her prints are characterized by bold geometric patterns and an inventive use of color. Living in the United States afforded her the opportunity to travel extensively in Mexico and South America, where she became interested in and inspired by Pre-Columbian art. Albers passed away in 1994 in her adopted home of New Haven, CT.