The letter from the painter and graphic artist Josef Albers and his wife, the textile designer Anni Albers, comes from the estate of the former Dessau housemaid Charlotte Hesse. The correspondence allowed them to maintain contact between their old and new homeland.
Josef Albers, who never referred to himself as an exile, was the first Bauhaus teacher to emigrate to the United States. His appointment at Black Mountain College earned him immediate renown: the press monitored closely the development of the newly established school and reported on his arrival.
The financial resources of the young college were limited. The meagre salaries did not allow the couple any lavish expenditure and necessitated a purist lifestyle, forcing them to concentrate on their teaching and their own art. Although Albers had been active as an artist in Germany, his first real success came in the United States.
They both plunged into their work with great idealism and enthusiasm. Josef Albers worked for 16 years at Black Mountain College after arriving in the United States.
Josef and Anni Albers spent their sabbaticals and a number of summers from 1935 to 1942 and from 1947 to 1962 in Mexico, where the cost of living was significantly lower than in the US. Josef and Anni Albers became passionate collectors of pre-Columbian art, which is also reflected in much of their own work.