Cat. No. 806 (cancellation proof)
Le Père et les 3 Fils
- State/Variant:
- Only state, cancellation proof
- Date:
- 2005
- Descriptive Title:
-
English translation: "The Father and the 3 Sons"
- Themes:
- Animals & Insects, Motherhood & Family
- Techniques:
- Etching
- Description:
- Soft ground etching, with pencil additions
- Support:
- Smooth, wove paper
- Dimensions:
- plate: 55 11/16 × 12 3/8" (141.5 × 31.4 cm; sheet: 21 1/4 × 60" (54 × 152.4 cm)
- Signature:
- Not signed
- Inscription:
- "Cancelled" left middle margin, pencil, artist's hand. Verso: "#1" lower center sheet, pencil, artist's hand.
- Publisher:
- unpublished
- Printer:
- Wingate Studio, Hinsdale, NH
- Edition:
- 2 known cancellation proofs
- Impression:
- Not numbered
- Edition Information:
- This is one of 2 known cancellation proofs. A cancellation proof is included in the Evolving Composition Diagram because there are no known impressions without hand additions. This composition was not issued as a published edition.
There are 3 unique variants of this plate. They all include extensive hand additions and are listed below.
Before settling on the 3 unique variants, Bourgeois first added hand additions to 7 impressions of the plate and called them "studies." (Usually in this catalogue, the term "study" describes photocopies and tracings that were used in the process of developing a composition.) She then combined 3 of these studies into a unique variant triptych titled “Le Père et les 3 Fils.” She issued another study as a unique variant single panel work. The three remaining studies are no longer extant, according to the Louise Bourgeois Studio.
She worked again with this plate to make an additional multi-panel work, titled "Afraid." This work was made from impressions of the plate that were separate from the initial 7 studies described above.
The 3 unique variants are listed below and can be seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram:
"Afraid"
“Le Père et les 3 Fils” (triptych incorporates studies 1, 4, and 7)
“Le Père et les 3 Fils” (study 5) - MoMA Credit Line:
- Gift of the artist
- MoMA Accession Number:
- 965.2011
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY