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Additions in red ink: small knife filled in, anticipating state II; handle of large knife reinforced, anticipating state II.
Background:
The two source drawings for "Dagger Child" are tracings of a knife that Bourgeois had in her home, according to her assistant Jerry Gorovoy. She also used tracings of common household objects in 2006 to develop the print series, “Lullaby.”
Artist’s Remarks:
"The Dagger Child is the child who is in the position to hurt you. He has the power to hurt the mother. The knife is like a little toy." (Quote cited in Meyer-Thoss, Christiane. "Louise Bourgeois: Designing for Free Fall." Zurich: Ammann Verlag, 1992, p. 180)
Inscribed on the verso of the source drawing: "The dagger child et sa mere."
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