First Major Biography of Anni Albers to Release in 2026, Tracing Her Pioneering Modernist Career
Nicholas Fox Weber is set to release the first comprehensive biography of Anni Albers (1899-1994) in April 2026 in the US and June 2026 in the UK. Born Annelise Elsa Frieda Fleischmann in Berlin, Albers became a key figure in 20th-century modernism after joining the Bauhaus in 1922. She wed painter Josef Albers in 1925 and left for the US in 1933 to escape Nazi oppression. The couple taught at Black Mountain College until 1949. Albers produced significant works, including 'On Weaving' (1965) and innovative jewelry. In 1949, she was featured in a groundbreaking MoMA exhibition, the first for a textile artist. Her legacy has gained renewed attention with recent retrospectives and fabric launches in 2023.
Key facts
- Anni Albers's first major biography, 'Anni Albers: A Life', releases in the US on April 28, 2026, and in the UK on June 23, 2026.
- The biography is authored by Nicholas Fox Weber, executive director of the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation.
- Anni Albers was born Annelise Elsa Frieda Fleischmann in Berlin in 1899 and died in 1994.
- She studied at the Bauhaus from 1922, marrying fellow Bauhaus artist Josef Albers in 1925.
- The Albers emigrated to the US in 1933, arriving in New York on November 25, 1933, after an invitation from Philip Johnson to teach at Black Mountain College.
- The Museum of Modern Art in New York held a landmark solo exhibition for Albers in 1949, its first for a textile artist.
- Albers published the influential book 'On Weaving' in 1965.
- Recent retrospectives of her work were held at the Guggenheim Bilbao in 2017, Tate Modern in 2018, and the Blanton Museum in Austin, Texas in 2024.
Entities
Artists
- Anni Albers
- Josef Albers
- Nicholas Fox Weber
- Sheila Hicks
- Ruth Asawa
- John Cage
- Buckminster Fuller
- Walter Gropius
- Paul Klee
- Alex Reed
- Mary Emma Harris
- Wassily Kandinsky
- Nina Kandinsky
- Philip Johnson
- Edgar Kaufmann Jr.
Institutions
- Bauhaus
- Black Mountain College
- Museum of Modern Art
- Josef and Anni Albers Foundation
- Yale University
- MIT
- Gemini G.E.L.
- Guggenheim Bilbao
- Tate Modern
- Blanton Museum
- Dedar
- Christopher Farr Editions
- Ullstein Verlag
- The New York Times
- Artists Rights Society (ARS)
Locations
- Berlin
- Germany
- New York
- United States
- North Carolina
- Asheville
- New Haven
- Connecticut
- Orange
- Bilbao
- Spain
- London
- United Kingdom
- Austin
- Texas
- Milan
- Italy
- Mexico