Yousuf Karsh

"A stimulating and controversial teacher, this German-born artist and Yale professor had brought order to our perception of color in Homage to the Square, a series of paintings concretely illustrating his theories. To step over the threshold of Albers’s typical Cape Cod cottage was to enter the Bauhaus of prewar Germany. Albers and his wife, Ani, a noted weaver, welcomed us. When we paused during our photographic session for a respite from the extreme July heat, Ani came downstairs with two freshly laundered white shirts, one for her husband and one for me. The Alberses spoke of their first years teaching art in America at Black Mountain College, after having been rescued from the Holocaust. Their first summer vacation loomed endless before them for they had no money to travel. Ten of their students invited their by-then-beloved teachers to spend one week as guests with each of their families. 'We really learned about the spirit of America,' Ani said, with tears in her eyes, 'the generosity, the caring.'"