Artist and educator Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack met Anni and Josef Albers in the early years of the Bauhaus school. The artists maintained a friendship over the years via correspondence. Hirschfeld-Mack left the Bauhaus before it moved to Dessau and continued to teach art in Germany and London until he was interned as an enemy alien during World War Two. He appealed to Josef to help him emigrate to the United States to teach at Black Mountain College, however news of his sponsorship by the school came too late. Hirschfeld-Mack was deported to Australia and interned in camps in regional New South Wales and Victoria, until he secured employment at Geelong Grammar School and was released. Hirschfeld-Mack was instrumental in introducing the ideas of the Bauhaus to Australia and continued to correspond with Anni and Josef. He placed Josef’s work in an exhibition on the Bauhaus at Gallery A in Melbourne in 1961 and was hopeful the couple might visit Australia. Excerpts from these letters reveal a deep respect between the artists, Hirschfeld-Mack using Josef’s nickname ‘Jupp’, while reflecting on their time at the Bauhaus.
30 July 1961
Dear Jupp,
Thank you for your letter. So far I have sent you a copy of the catalogue with your design by air, and one by surface mail, and also 5 copies (one with local advertisements). Unfortunately only half of the original wording was printed because of lack of space – and a few statements have been altered and are not correct. – I could not obtain any photos from Wingler and we had to enlarge photos from books for this exhibition. I had to reproduce my colour experiments of 1921-23 as my originals are all at the Bauhaus Archiv.
I have written to Professor Burke, Melbourne University, and I will let you know of any move for an invitation.
You and Anni may be interested, that my old ‘Zieharmonika’, which I used in Weimar is still ‘alive’ and I still play the old tunes. If you have a tape recorder, I’ll make a tape recording of these for you. I have developed a ‘colour cord’ with a colour indicator, and by means of it conduct a group of a few dozen string instruments and xylophones turned in chords and untrained people are easily able to play. With kindest regards, also for Anni
Yours Ludwig
