20th Century and Contemporary, American History, Books, Design, YUP News

Little Bauhaus Cabin in the Woods

If you drive down a certain series of winding roads in Bethany, CT, you will come upon a classic mailbox stamped with very Bauhausian numerals, marking the entrance to 88 Beacon Road, the home of the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation. Housed in a quietly beautiful building designed by architect Tim Prentice, the foundation is dedicated to preserving and promoting the achievements of both Josef and Anni Albers, and the philosophies and principles by which they lived. You can learn more about the fascinating lives of the Alberses and their circle in The Bauhaus Group: Six Masters of Modernism, a recent biography of the members of the Bauhaus School, written by foundation director and author Nicholas Fox Weber.

Josef Albers maintained a strong relationship with Yale University, where he became chair of the department of art in 1950. His Interaction of Color was published by Yale University Press in 1963, and has never been out of print, selling over a quarter of a million copies over the decades.

In 2006, Yale published a revised and expanded edition of the paperback edition of Interaction, and in 2009, together with the Foundation, Yale published a new and complete edition of the original book, comprised of two slipcase volumes and featuring reproductions of all original 150 color plates.

Looking ahead, 2013 will mark the 50th anniversary of Interaction of Color, now considered one of the most influential books on color ever published, and will see this project take a very new form—one which surely would have pleased the ever-innovative, ever-interactive Josef Albers a great deal.

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