Oil on masonite 40 x 40 cm, framed. Monogrammed and dated (incised) A 66 lower right. With a dedication dated XII. 25. 68 for Evchen + Hein on the reverse of the masonite. Additionally with barely readable inscription of several lines. - The very outer margins with slight rubbings due to framing and in the lower area with irregularities in the varnish, applied by the artist.
The dedication refers to Eva and Hein Stünke, founders and owners of the Galerie Der Spiegel, Cologne.
The present work served as a prototype for the print SP-J, 1971 (Danilowitz 209), of the portfolio Spiegel 70, portfolio with 14 prints by several artists, published on the occasion of the 25-year anniversary of the Galerie Der Spiegel, Cologne, 1970.
Certificate
The present work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the paintings by Josef Albers under the number 1966.1.6.
Provenance
Galerie Der Spiegel, Cologne (with verso labels on the masonite and on the verso frame slats); Galerie Teufel, Cologne/Koblenz (with verso label, with incorrect dating there); Christies London, 1. July 1999, lot 725 (with verso label, with incorrect dating there); private collection, Germany
Exhibitions
Frankfurt 1983 (Frankfurter Kunstverein), Kunst nach '45 aus Frankfurter Privatbesitz, exhib.cat. p. 403, with col.ill. on the cover and p.30 with full page col.ill. (erroneously described oil on canvas) Düsseldorf 1970 (Städtische Kunsthalle), Josef Albers (with verso label)