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LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

Louise Bourgeois: Complete Books & Prints
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Cat. No. 432

Untitled, plate 3 of 14, from the portfolio, Autobiographical Series

State/Variant:
Only state
Date:
1994
Portfolio:
Autobiographical Series (View All)
Descriptive Title:
Boy and Girl
Themes:
Faces & Portraits, Figures
Techniques:
Drypoint
Description:
Drypoint
Support:
Smooth, wove Somerset paper
Dimensions:
plate (component A): 3 7/8 x 2 7/16" (9.8 x 6.2 cm); plate (component B): 3 9/16 x 2 3/16" (9 x 5.5 cm); sheet: 19 11/16 x 15 1/16" (50 x 38.3cm)
Signature:
"LB" lower right margin of each component, pencil.
Publisher:
Peter Blum Edition, New York
Printer:
Harlan & Weaver, New York
Edition:
35; plus 10 H.C.
Impression:
"III/X" left lower margin, pencil, unknown hand.
Edition Information:
There is 1 known impression of the only state, outside the edition, in MoMA's Collection (Accession Number: 622.2008). It is not illustrated, due to its similiarity to the impression seen here.
State Changes and Additions:
Component A, only state.
Component B, state II of II.
Background:
Bourgeois was often inspired by the subjects of early drawings when creating works at much later dates. This 1994 portfolio is an example of a project based primarily on drawings from the 1940s and referring to her life in New York at that time. The exceptions are as follows: plate 1, based on a drawing from 1986 that references childbirth; plates 4 and 9, based on drawings from the 1940s but depicting memories of her childhood years in France; plate 11, most probably based on a drawing from the 1940s of a European hotel desk.

Bourgeois had three sons: Michel, Jean-Louis, and Alain. Michel and Jean-Louis are mentioned on the source drawings in the Evolving Composition Diagram below.
Installation Remarks:
The prints in this portfolio can be shown as a group or individually. There is no required sequence.
Curatorial Remarks:
The progression of this composition, as seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram below, involved two components: A and B. Before editioning the impression with both components printed on a single sheet, Bourgeois made separate proofs of each component and made state changes to component B.

Of the 14 plates in "Autobiographical Series," Bourgeois titled plates 6 and 12. The untitled plates have been assigned descriptive titles for cataloguing purposes.
Bibliography:
Malbert, Roger, and Juliet Mitchell. "Louise Bourgeois: Autobiographical Prints." London: Hayward, 2016. (Catalogue accompanying the touring exhibition "Louise Bourgeois Prints: Autobiographical Series and 11 Drypoints".)
MoMA Credit Line:
Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:
74.1997.3
This Work in Other Collections:
Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland
Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Québec
Museu da Gravura Cidade de Curitiba, Brazil
Tate Modern, London

Untitled, plate 3 of 14, from the portfolio, Autobiographical Series
1993-1994

Source
c. 1944

NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. Michel. c. 1944
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Michel
Pencil on paper
c. 1944

Source
c. 1944

NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. Jean Louis. c. 1944
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Jean Louis
Pencil on paper
c. 1944

Component A

Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 3 of 14, from the portfolio, Autobiographical Series, component A. 1993
Only state
1993

Component B

Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 3 of 14, from the portfolio, Autobiographical Series, component B. 1993
State I of II
1993
Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 3 of 14, from the portfolio, Auobiographical Series, component B. 1993
State II of II
1993

States

Published Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, plate 3 of 14, from the portfolio, Autobiographical Series. 1994
Only state
1994

Portfolio
1994

Louise Bourgeois. Autobiographical Series. 1994
Autobiographical Series
1994
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