Louise Bourgeois. Bosom Lady. 1948

Louise Bourgeois Bosom Lady 1948

  • Not on view

This is a self-portrait, as indicated by the hairdo that Bourgeois wore at this time. The figure protects a bowl with three eggs, representing her three young boys. These are "her three jewels," the artist said. "The bird will take care of the eggs...but can also escape by flight." Here, she employs a visual strategy that recurs time and again in her work the combination of realism and Surrealism to create her symbolism.

Gallery label from Louise Bourgeois: An Unfolding Portrait, Sept. 24, 2017-Jan. 28, 2018.
State/variant
State IV of V
Medium
Engraving and drypoint
Dimensions
plate: 7 7/8 x 14 7/8" (20 x 37.8 cm); sheet: 13 x 19 13/16" (33 x 50.4 cm)
Publisher
unpublished
Printer
The artist at Atelier 17, New York
Edition
2 known impressions of state IV
Impresssion
Not numbered
Credit
Gift of the artist
Object number
138.1990
Copyright
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY
Department
Drawings and Prints

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