Cat. No. 542.2/VI
Who, Where, When, Why, What
- State/Variant:
- Version 2 of 2, state VI of VIII
- Date:
- 2008
- Themes:
- Architecture, Words
- Techniques:
- Aquatint, Drypoint
- Description:
- Drypoint and aquatint
- Support:
- Smooth, wove paper
- Dimensions:
- plate: 11 7/8 x 9 13/16" (30.1 x 25 cm); sheet: 17 15/16 x 12 15/16" (45.5 x 32.8 cm)
- Signature:
- Not signed
- Publisher:
- unpublished
- Printer:
- Harlan & Weaver, New York
- Edition:
- 1 known impression of version 2, state VI
- Impression:
- Not numbered
- Edition Information:
- Not issued as a published edition at any state.
- State Changes and Additions:
- Matrices:
The progression of version 2, as seen in the Evolving Composition Diagram below, involved 3 plates.
Plate 1: contours of composition and shading of capital W’s, in drypoint; printed in red or black.
Plate 2: shading of house borders and segments of smoke, in aquatint; printed in red or black.
Plate 3: smoke spiral, reconfigured text, and contours of capital W’s in soft ground etching; printed in red or black.
State Changes:
Plate 2 printed in black, over plate 1 printed in black.
Changes from version 1: composition reconfigured with text in boxes within a house shape, in drypoint.
Changes from version 2, state V, by burnishing: lower contour of house and ‘DALAI LAMA’ text removed; shading removed in smoke and in several areas of the border of the house. - Background:
- In August of 1999, the Dalai Lama spoke at several well-attended events in New York City. Bourgeois's son, Jean-Louis, requested that his mother execute a benefit print to raise money for the Dalai Lama’s cause about a month prior to the speaking engagements. Although Bourgeois created this composition, the benefit project did not come to fruition and this print was never published.
- Curatorial Remarks:
- A variant impression of version 2, state IV was sold at Phillips, New York, “Editions” auction on November 23, 2008, as lot 90. The description lists a "numbered edition of 25 and 7 artist's proofs, published by Harlan & Weaver, New York." According to Felix Harlan of Harlan & Weaver, this composition was never published.
- MoMA Credit Line:
- Gift of the artist
- MoMA Accession Number:
- 1570.2012
© The Easton Foundation/VAGA at ARS, NY