Submitted photo From left, Louis A. Zona, director emeritus of the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, is shown with William Roemer, who donated the Joseph Albers’ painting “Homage to the Square: Now” seen behind them to the museum in memory of his parents.

A painting by 20th century German-American artist Josef Albers now is part of the Butler Institute of American Art’s permanent collection.

The 1957 oil-on-Masonite work “Homage to the Square: Now” was donated to the museum by William and Linda Roemer in memory of his parents, James and Helen Roemer.

According to his obituary, James Roemer was president of Sharon Steel, Shenango Metalcraft Corp. and Roemer Industries and lived for more than 70 years in the Warren area until his death in 2006 at age 100.

“Albers’ role in the history of American art of the post-World War II era is a monument to his genius as both a great artist and a great teacher,” Director Emeritus Louis A. Zona said in the news release announcing the donation. “One might say that Albers’ ‘handwriting’ can be seen in the works of all the artists he has touched.”

In his own work, Albers investigated color theory and composition. He began to explore mathematical proportions to achieve balance and unity in his art. The abstract painter and theorist is best known for his series “Homage to the Square,” in which he explored chromatic interactions with nested squares.

According to the website for Christie’s Auction House, works in the “Homage to the Square” series usually sell for at least $500,000 and some have sold for more than $2 million.

Albers taught at the Bauhaus (a German art school that combined crafts and the fine arts) from 1923 until 1933, when he immigrated to the United States after the Nazis forced the closing of the Berlin Bauhaus.

Albers’ introduced concepts developed at the Bauhaus at North Carolina’s Black Mountain College, where his students included future influential artists such as Robert Rauschenberg and Ruth Asawa. Albers also invited other artists to teach there, including choreographer Merce Cunningham and Harlem Renaissance painter Jacob Lawrence. He later became the chair of the department of design at Yale University.

Albers’ painting is on display in the Beeghly-Schaff Gallery of the first floor of the Butler, 524 Wick Ave, Youngstown.