Louise Bourgeois. Two Figures / Father and Son (2004)

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Louise Bourgeois. Two Figures / Father and Son. 2004

NOT IN MoMA'S COLLECTION

Cat. No. 1118

Two Figures / Father and Son

State/Variant:: Only state
Date:: 2004

Themes:: Figures, Motherhood & Family
Techniques:: Etching
Description:: Etching, with watercolor and gouache additions
Support:: Paper
Dimensions:: plate: 30 × 22" (76.2 × 55.9 cm); sheet: 41 1/2 × 29" (105.4 × 73.7 cm)
Signature:: "Louise Bourgeois" lower right margin, pencil.
Publisher:: Osiris, New York
Printer:: Wingate Studio, Hinsdale, NH
Edition:: 17 with hand additions; plus an edition of 11 with hand additions
Impression:: "1/17" verso.
Edition Information:: This composition was issued in 2 separate editions, both titled "Two Figures / Father and Son." An edition of 17 was issued in 2004 and an edition of 11 was issued in 2005. It was also included in the illustrated book "Hang On."

About the 2004 edition of 17:
The hand additions vary slightly across the edition. For comparison, see a different impression in the Evolving Composition Diagram below.

About the 2005 edition of 11:
Bourgeois and the publisher designated each impression in this edition as a study. (Usually in this catalogue, the term study describes photocopies and tracings that were used in the process of developing a composition.) The hand additions vary across the edition and some studies were trimmed within the platemark. For comparison, see multiple studies in the Evolving Composition Diagram below. Studies 10 and 11 each have a mylar overlay. On study 10, the mylar has a tracing of the figures and some words. On study 11, the mylar has a tracing of the figures. Neither were available for illustration.

About the "Hang On" illustrated book edition:
Of the announced edition of 9 unbound and 12 bound, only 9 unbound examples were realized.

There are varying hand additions across the edition of illustrated books. Impression number 5/9 was also available for examination by MoMA cataloguers, but was not available for reproduction. In that example, plate 9 has white gouache additions.
Background:: This composition was developed at the same time as the sculptural fountain "Father and Son," installed in the Seattle Art Museum's Olympic Sculpture Park. The fountain has two parts, a father figure and a son figure. At varying times, the water rises in height to obscure one figure from the other. Related drawings and a model for the sculpture can be seen below in Related Works in Other Mediums.
Curatorial Remarks:: The hand additions, paper type, and impression number could not be fully documented because this work is not in MoMA's Collection and could not be examined in person.
Other Remarks:: According to the Louise Bourgeois Studio, this is the only known impression in the edition of 17 that is not inscribed "father and son" in the lower left margin by the artist in pencil.