Interaction of Color (50th Anniversary Edition)

"One of the most important books on color ever written." Michael Hession, Gizmodo

"Interaction of Color with its illuminating visual exercises and mind-bending optical illusions, remains an indispensable blueprint to the art of seeing. . . . An essential piece of visual literacy." Maria Popova, Brain Pickings

Josef Albers's classic Interaction of Color is a masterwork in art education. Conceived as a handbook and teaching aid for artists, instructors, and students, this influential book presents Albers's singular explanation of complex color theory principles.

Originally published by Yale University Press in 1963 as a limited silkscreen edition with 150 color plates, Interaction of Color first appeared in paperback in 1971, featuring ten color studies chosen by Albers, and has remained in print ever since. With over a quarter of a million copies sold in its various editions since 1963, Interaction of Color remains an essential resource on color, as pioneering today as when Albers first created it.

Fifty years after Interaction's initial publication, this anniversary edition presents a significantly expanded selection of close to sixty color studies alongside Albers's original text, demonstrating such principles as color relativity, intensity, and temperature; vibrating and vanishing boundaries; and the illusion of transparency and reversed grounds. A celebration of the longevity and unique authority of Albers's contribution, this landmark edition will find new audiences in studios and classrooms around the world.

“The best introduction to Albers's work — Albers's own Interaction of Color, which I highly recommend.” New York Magazine

“Will a paperback version preserve the original value of Albers' text?....The answer is an enthusiastic yes, for here is a book which belongs in the studio and classroom that for years has been available only in the best university.” Arts Review

“This handbook for artists, teachers, and students, by one of modernism's great artists and thinkers, has been expanded to include nearly 60 color studies.” DWELL

Josef Albers, one of the most influential artist-educators of the twentieth century, was a member of the Bauhaus group in Germany during the 1920s. In 1933 he came to the United States, where he taught at Black Mountain College for sixteen years. In 1950 he joined the faculty at Yale University as chairman of the department of design. Albers was elected to the National Institute of Arts and Letters in 1968 and was professor emeritus of art at Yale until his death in 1976.

Nicholas Fox Weber is executive director of the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation.