Nesting Tables

This set of four tables was designed by Bauhaus master Josef Albers, a designer with work in MoMA’s collection. While serving as the artistic director of the furniture workshop at the Bauhaus from 1926 to 1927, Albers conceived the Nesting Tables for the private Berlin apartment of his and his wife Anni's closest friends. Albers was known for his geometric paintings, and his logic and passion for color are applied to these tables. Crafted in Germany from solid oak with lacquered glass tops, they work “independently and interdependently.”

Josef Albers, who played a leading role in bringing the modern design principles of the Bauhaus to the United States, was born in Germany in 1888. Albers is known for his compositions that explore the relationship of color through simple forms, such as the square. In 1950, Albers became the head of the Department of Design at Yale University. In 1963, he published the influential book Interaction of Color that outlined his theories about color and understanding the rules guiding visual experience.

A Bauhaus classic, the Nesting Tables by Josef Albers, a designer represented in MoMA’s collection, are considered groundbreaking for their incorporation of pure and vibrant colors in furniture design. As a result of his background as a carpenter and contractor, Albers prized great craftsmanship, and he designed these functional and elegant tables with meticulous and rich simplicity.