The then most important book on the artist Paul Klee was published in March 1921, namely Wilhelm Hausenstein’s monograph entitled Kairuan oder eine Geschichte vom Maler Klee und von der Kunst dieses Zeitalters (Kairuan or a History of the Artist Klee and the Art of this Age). On 13 May Klee began his academic teaching at the Bauhaus with a Kompositionspraktikum (practical composition course). As a master of form he was head of the bookbinding workshop.

In 1922 Klee took over from Johannes Itten as artistic director of the gold, silver and copper smithy. In the autumn he swapped with Oskar Schlemmer at the workshop for glass painting.

Klee’s essay "Wege des Naturstudiums" (Ways of Studying Nature) appeared in 1923 in the publication issued for the events held during the Bauhaus Week.

The first Klee exhibition in the US was staged in 1924 from 7 January to 7 February, and was organised by Katherine S. Dreier of the Société Anonyme, New York. On 31 March the Blaue Vier (Blue Four) artists’ group was founded at the initiative of Emmy (Galka) Scheyer, and exhibited first and foremost in the US. Its other members besides Klee included Lyonel Feininger, Wassily Kandinsky and Alexey Jawlensky. In September and October Paul and Lily Klee spent some time in Italy, in particular in Sicily. On 26 December, after massive political pressure, the Bauhaus announced the dissolution of its Weimar school with effect from April of the following year.

In March 1925 the Dessau Local Council resolved to take over the Bauhaus. October saw the publication of Klee’s Pädagogisches Skizzenbuch (Pedagogical Sketchbook) as the second volume in the series of Bauhaus books published by Walter Gropius and László Moholy-Nagy. Klee terminated his general agency agreement with Hans Goltz and subsequently intensified business contacts with Alfred Flechtheim, the owner of two galleries by the same name in Berlin and Düsseldorf. From 21 October to 11 November Klee had his first exhibition in Paris at the Galerie Vavin-Raspail. Paintings by Klee were also shown at the first exhibition of the Surrealists at the Galerie Pierre in Paris in November.

On 10 July 1926 the Klee family moved to Dessau, where they lived with Wassily and Nina Kandinsky in one of the three two-family dwellings designed by Gropius for the Bauhaus masters.

From April 1927 Klee taught the Freie Werkstatt Malerei at the Bauhaus (also known as the Freie Malklasse / “Free Painting Class”) and, October onwards, design theory for weavers. In the late summer he travelled to Porquerolles and Corsica.

In February 1928 Klee published the essay "exakte versuche im bereich der kunst" (exact experiments in the field of art) in the bauhaus magazine. Hannes Meyer was appointed as the new Bauhaus Director. On 17 December Klee began a four-week trip to Egypt, financed by the Klee Society, an association of collectors founded by the Brunswick collector Otto Ralfs in 1925 to support Paul Klee.

In 1929 Paul and Lily Klee spent the summer holidays in France and Spain. Klee began negotiations for a professorship at the Düsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts. Klee was now at the zenith of his success, and regarded internationally as one of the most highly respected artists in Germany. The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the National Gallery, and the Alfred Flechtheim Gallery in Berlin organised large exhibitions to mark Klee’s 50th birthday.

On 1 July 1931 Klee took up his position as professor at the Düsseldorf Academy. Although he rented a room in Düsseldorf he kept his apartment in Dessau until April 1933. In the summer he travelled with Lily to Sicily.

In 1932 the Dessau Local Council resolved to close the Bauhaus at the demand of the Nazis.