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LOUISE BOURGEOIS: COMPLETE BOOKS & PRINTS

Louise Bourgeois: Complete Books & Prints
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Cat. No. 817, variant 1

The God of Fertility

State/Variant:
Only state, variant
Date:
2007
Themes:
Abstraction
Techniques:
Etching
Description:
Soft ground etching
Support:
Smooth, wove paper
Dimensions:
plate: 59 5/8 x 14 5/16" (151.4 x 36.4 cm); sheet: 59 3/4 x 16 7/16" (151.7 x 41.7 cm)
Signature:
"Louise Bourgeois" lower right comp., pencil.
Inscription:
"first proof" lower center comp., pencil, artist's hand.
Publisher:
unpublished
Printer:
Wingate Studio, Hinsdale, NH
Edition:
3 known variant impressions of the only state, outside the unique variants
Impression:
Not numbered
Edition Information:
Not issued as a published edition.

Aside from the 3 known variant impressions of the only state, there are 4 unique variants that incorporate this plate, printed alone or in combination with another plate in a multi-panel work. They all include hand additions. When the plate is used alone, the work is included in the Evolving Composition Diagram. When it is printed with another plate, it is included in Related Works in the Catalogue.

See Evolving Composition Diagram:
Untitled, no. 5 of 11, from the series, "Extreme Tension"
"The God of Fertility"
Untitled, no. 2 of 3, from the series, "The Voice Says Yes"

See Related Works in the Catalogue:
Untitled, no. 1 of 4, from the series, "Start Something!!"

There are 2 known cancellation proofs, each with a large "X" drawn across the composition from each corner of the plate.
Background:
Benjamin Shiff, the director of the Osiris imprint, collaborated with Bourgeois in a highly experimental phase of printmaking that occupied the last years of her life, from 2005 to 2010. He first established a working relationship with the artist in the 1990s, but the late period is particularly noteworthy for the innovative and complex large-scale projects that evolved at that time. Shiff made use of professional workshops for printing, but he oversaw the creation of the printing plates as Bourgeois worked on them in her home studio. He also provided assistance as she added extensive hand additions and texts, and as she combined individual compositions into multi-panel works and illustrated books.
MoMA Credit Line:
Gift of the artist
MoMA Accession Number:
980.2011
This Work in Other Collections:
Tate Modern, London

The God of Fertility
2007-2009

States

Louise Bourgeois. The God of Fertility. 2007
The God of Fertility
Only state, variant
2007
Louise Bourgeois. The God of Fertility. 2007
The God of Fertility
Only state, variant
2007
Louise Bourgeois. The God of Fertility. 2007
The God of Fertility
Only state, variant
2007

Unique Variants

Published NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, no. 5 of 11, from the series, Extreme Tension. 2007
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Untitled, no. 5 of 11, from the series, Extreme Tension
Only state, unique variant
2007
Published NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. The God of Fertility. 2007
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION The God of Fertility
Only state, unique variant
2007
Published NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. Untitled, no. 2 of 3, from the series, The Voice Says Yes. 2009
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Untitled, no. 2 of 3, from the series, The Voice Says Yes
Only state, unique variant
2009

Series
2007

NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. Extreme Tension. 2007
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Extreme Tension
2007
More About This Work

Series
2009

NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION Louise Bourgeois. The Voice Says Yes. 2009
NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION The Voice Says Yes
2009
More About This Work